27/02/18
I’m Sheila and I’m a peer researcher evaluating Together in a Crisis. After a series of unfortunate events I had a mental health crisis, which led to me getting involved with organisations that help people with mental…
15/02/18
Designed in the North East by mental health crisis care professionals and experts by experience, Respond simulates a mental health crisis scenario with video and audio clips, and group discussions in a safe environment. Respond brings together everyone in the…
26/01/18
Case studies are important because they add meaning to figures and statistics. They can detail the intricacies of people’s lives, sometimes even explaining actions and events with reasoned discussion. This is an important part of research for people…
12/01/18
Getting to grips with data On the first day of every month we analyse changes in caseloads, demographics, and referral information for Fulfilling Lives clients. This is distributed to people working within MCN in Newcastle or Gateshead as…
10/01/18
Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead contributed to the submission of evidence to the APPG from the NECG in 2017, along with other Fulfilling Lives projects across the country. In April 2017, the APPG, in partnership with the Office…
21/11/17
This year Tyneside Women’s Health is working hard to raise awareness of the White Ribbon Campaign to end violence against women. The event will provide an opportunity to hear directly from women about their experiences of domestic abuse…
03/10/17
Changing Lives was awarded the prestigious title at the North East Charity Awards, which were held at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 28th September 2017. Changing Lives were one of three charities based in the North East shortlisted…
10/08/17
On our recent trip to Newcastle, we were fortunate to be able to visit Fulfilling Lives, and meet some of the inspirational team. We first learned about the programme, its aims, outcomes and who it supports. The definition…
02/08/17
Gateshead’s Recovery Walk, now in its seventh year, is organised collaboratively by local charities to celebrate the supportive recovery community in the North East, and to raise awareness of addiction and recovery. We are proud to have the…
28/07/17
John was sofa-surfing when we supported him in his Universal Credit application. John didn’t have a bank account, so his Navigator went with him to a high street bank to start the process for opening an account there…
19/07/17
Gateshead’s Recovery Walk, now in its seventh year, is organised collaboratively by local charities to celebrate the supportive recovery community in the North East, and to raise awareness of addiction and recovery. National charity Changing Lives, Fulfilling Lives…
03/07/17
John has been a Fulfilling Lives client since June 2016. When John was referred to us in February 2016, he was living with his father and claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Between February and June, when he…
01/07/17
Alex Smith, one of three System Brokers at FLNG, will be sharing learning on Critical Time Intervention (CTI), an innovative support model for people with multiple needs which is used predominantly in America. Alex visited Brilliant Corners, a…
23/06/17
The introduction of Universal Credit is one of the biggest changes to the benefits system that we’ve ever seen. Universal Credit brings six current benefit payments together and pays them all as a single monthly payment, to mimic…
14/06/17
Tyneside Women’s Health were one of the 10 winners of the 2017 GSK IMPACT Awards, a national award that recognises excellence in charities improving health and wellbeing in their communities. The charity will receive £30,000 in funding as part…
02/06/17
As a programme, Fulfilling Lives is very much focused on change. A large proportion of my work is encouraging systems in Newcastle and Gateshead to change their outlook at the way they support people with multiple and complex needs. Despite…
24/05/17
John has faced a number of challenges throughout his life. He grew up in a chaotic household, exposed to his mom’s substance abuse, and joined a gang as a teenager. John began to drink alcohol problematically and was arrested…
22/05/17
Our second day in Milton Keynes for the Multiple Needs Summit was opened by guest speakers including Alan Wallace (Fulfilling Lives South East), Steve Kahn (EBE Liverpool), and Karen Biggs (CEO Phoenix Futures). We were told that a 9…
22/05/17
The Multiple Needs Summit was opened by our very own Terry Nelson, former member of our Experts by Experience group and now Development Manager at Jigsaw Recovery Project CIC. Terry set the scene for the event and asked…
19/05/17
I met a Breaking Barriers client today who was very excited to show me her new apartment. After moving in only a month ago, I could feel her pride at having her own front door and she was very…
16/05/17
A phrase that crops up for our complex needs clients here in the UK time and time again is that they have ‘burnt their bridges’ and therefore have very limited housing options available to them. From the time I have…
15/05/17
My host for the Transatlantic Exchange provides a number of different programmes for homeless people with criminal records. The main programme I am here to visit is Breaking Barriers, which provides temporary housing with case management support to people…
10/05/17
My Transatlantic Exchange host asked me to watch a video which is essential viewing for anyone interested in CTI. As I mentioned in my previous blog, CTI is designed to be a simple intervention to…
09/05/17
Following an 11 hour flight and jumping back in time 8 hours, I found myself at LAX and hoping that Jamie Foxx might be waiting at the taxi rank for some Collateral style commuting. Sadly, Jamie must have eventually…
05/05/17
I am currently ticking off the last tasks on my to-do list before I shut down for two weeks from my role with Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead. On Sunday, I’ll be starting my journey to America for Homeless Link’s Transatlantic…
04/05/17
Respond is a unique multi-agency simulation training package for professionals involved in mental health crisis care. Centred on the advice of people with lived experience such as our own Experts, Respond equips staff to respond quickly and appropriately to…
25/04/17
“As frontline staff, we work with vulnerable adults in need of care on a daily basis. So it’s surprising that so little of us have an extended knowledge of, or experience of, the Care Act. The Care Act was brought…
21/03/17
Alex Smith, one of Fulfilling Lives NG’s three System Brokers, applied for the 2017 programme which sees frontline charity workers from the UK and across the pond join each other’s organisations for a fortnight to gain insight into…
02/12/16
David has spent years in and out of prison and in ‘out of area’ hostels. He was referred to Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead and was allocated when he was in custody. I visited…
07/11/16
Mind’s report also revealed that more than four in five (82%) of practice nurses said they’d had no mental health training at all. We know that over 90% of people receiving treatment and care for their mental health problems do…
21/10/16
Since opening the project in 2011 we’ve been acutely aware that Basis has unique access to those who visit the service, they want to be there and they trust us. These two things give us a great opportunity to…
20/10/16
I attended my first Team Day this month, after being a part of the Fulfilling Lives team for almost 5 months. The day was the…
06/10/16
The Recovery Shield was held on 27th September 2016 at Redheugh Boy’s Football Club in Gateshead, and was organised by a staff member of Changing Lives: David McCormack. With this being it’s 5th year it was decided to make it…
05/08/16
I’m really excited to read the full report of the Dialogical PIE’s we piloted at Fulfilling Lives (an executive summary is also available). It is…
03/08/16
The Fulfilling Lives programme has been involved with the Homeless Link ‘Be the Change’ Network North East and Cumbria (BTCNE&C) for approximately 2 years and over this time a natural synergy has developed in our work. The BTCNE&C work…
20/07/16
My name is Caroline Janes and I’ve recently started working with Fulfilling Lives as a Research and Evaluation Assistant. Since I was recruited in March 2016, time has flown by and I’ve learnt so much already. These may be…
18/07/16
The Newcastle and Gateshead systems change project has identified a number of principles underpinning its programme development and approach to systems change. These include: Meeting and understanding the needs of beneficiaries, based on service user involvement and the Experts…
20/06/16
Fulfilling Lives hosted their annual recovery walk on Friday 17th June, walking the 16.8miles from Chopwell Community Centre to Gateshead High St in just over 6 hours. 84 people completed the walk – some in recovery and some working to…
14/06/16
We all want to feel connected. We are creatures of connection: family, friends, homes, neighbourhoods, communities. In reality, however, these connections can vary and for some, there are no positive connections…
25/10/15
Our Experts By Experience reference group meetings give people with lived experience of the system(s) in Newcastle and Gateshead, or similar, a voice to direct how these need to operate and change to…
07/10/15
Change is happening all the time. Often it is something we don’t control, maybe even something we fear will have a negative impact. But as a wise colleague once said to me: “If we can’t change, how can we…
28/08/15
The day was all about having fun, bringing communities together and raising awareness of the difficulties people with multiple complex needs face. There was fun for the whole family with an inflatable…
20/07/15
The day started off with the usual nerves and of course what to wear as I couldn’t rock up in my usual jeans and jumper. Upon arrival I phoned up to where the public health team lived and was…
14/07/15
I was encouraged to set up a Twitter account and tweet, partly because social media is increasingly important in bringing about system change. I didn’t know how to tweet so I…
19/06/15
Chairman, Sir Paul Ennals and Programme Manager, Neil Mackenzie opened the event. The event included talks from various guest speakers including, Public Health Consultant,Alice…
09/06/15
I have a background in working with the DWP through Legal Aid Welfare assistance, but since last year I have been working on the Fulfilling Lives programme for which Changing…
16/03/15
My poor life choices, addictions and mental health issues led to the whole of my adult life being both chaotic and unmanageable. I caused my family and friends plenty of stress, emotional and physical pain, experienced homelessness and was…
05/02/15
A Big Thank You to everyone who attended our seminar at Sanctuary Art Space, Trinity Church in…
13/11/14
The launch marks the start of a multi-agency partnership of organisations set…
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