The Hearts & Minds Partnership

We're delighted to say the Hearts & Minds team has grown to include some amazing people from the grassroots perinatal mental health community. Working on a freelance basis, we have recruited individuals with an incredible portfolio of skills, knowledge, lived experience and expertise to help us form a team of 'Root Makers' and 'Evaluation Partners'. ROOT MAKERS This team of six have formed to support our programme with a particular emphasis on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Working in a genuinely collaborative way, we will develop a more representative, accessible and inclusive approach to our workstreams, ensuring that under-represented voices and communities are heard and held with value and respect at the core of all we do. Lauren Parr (Make Birth Better) Alex Paterson (Best Beginnings) Ameena Rahman (Sister Circle) Manisha Sheth (Support ME) Matt Taylor-Roberts (Proud 2 b Parents) Aileen White (My Birth Support) EVALUATION PARTNERS To work alongside our evaluation consultant, we have teamed up with three brilliant people to help support and influence our overall project evaluation. Together they will co-design our evaluation from inception to completion, focusing on the effectiveness of Hearts & Minds to deliver against its objectives and outcomes. Ang Broadbridge (Ways to Wellness UK) Sharon Coaker Laura Richmond We’d like to wish a very warm welcome to our new team members! To find out lots more about our Root Makers and Evaluation Partners, just visit our latest blog post by following the link below: https://lnkd.in/exYGqYwg #VCSE #perinatalmentalhealth #EDI #team #growth

Now that we're shifting into Autumn and that 'new term' feeling is upon us, we'd like to invite those working in the VCSE in perinatal mental health to our next Conversation Space online chat on Wednesday 25th September, from 10.30-11.30am. This month's topic is: Resourcing Riddles Attracting and retaining brilliant people in the VCSE community The perinatal mental health VCSE sector is full of inspiring, kind and skillful people. It’s the nature of what we do to have compassion in our heart, courage in our bones and generosity running through our veins. Although running a grassroots service means you often get to recruit and learn from these incredible people, it can also be a challenge to retain them. Life happens. In abundance. Along with funding shortages, short-term contracts and limited resources, we can’t always keep the dream team together. If this sounds familiar to you, please do come along! What you can gain: - Insight into how other VCSEs are solving the resourcing riddle - A whole hour to let your mind wander free on this topic - sense of connection with the wider sector - The company of others who just ‘get it’ - Hints and tips from established and newly emerging organisations - Realistic, easy-to-implement ideas to take back to your organisation What you can bring: - Your perspective (only if you want) - Your presence (which we very much appreciate) - Your worries and fears - Your ideas and dreams - A sense of humour - A hot cuppa Sign up for free via the link below - we hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/eGFNt4vS

Sometimes the pace of life can get a bit relentless. If you work in the VCSE you might be predisposed to consider others' needs and sometimes that means your own needs take a backseat. Sometimes we override the natural ebb and flow of life, so see if it's possible to take some time for YOU over the summer. It's not just OK, it's essential to take a break. To breathe, spend time with loved-ones, to rest and recharge. We start here by supporting ourselves in order to support others. Happy August 😊 #vcse #perinatalmentalhealth

Thanks to those of you who were able to join this morning's #ConversationSpace about leading in a changing landscape. It's vital we create trusted spaces for open chats about both the practical & emotional aspects of leadership in the VCSE. We covered a lot of ground, from the political liminality around policy, the future of Family Hubs & capacity issues across the landscape, to the importance of recognising the depth & complexity of the VCSE. We all appreciated the benefit of both formal & informal peer networks as safe spaces to share. We felt passionately that peer support models, founded in relational approaches, see people in their entirety and don't pathologise what can be an incredibly disorientating transition in life, during the perinatal period. We also acknowledged the importance of holding these conversations with compassion & to see the enormity of the breadth of our work and the impact it has. We'll be taking a break in August for #ConversationSpace, and we'll resume in September. Wishing you all a well-deserved rest &, if we're very lucky, some sunshine too! Thank you.

We are delighted to welcome The Hearts & Minds Partnership as the latest signatory for the Charter for People, Culture & Wellbeing. Natalie Nuttall, Lead Coordinator of the Hearts & Minds Partnership, said: "We are proud to be partnered with AAL for our Smart Space online training programme, supporting both emerging and established Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprises (VCSEs) in perinatal mental health. Signing up to AAL's People, Culture & Wellbeing Charter made total sense as it is aligned with our commitment to creating a culture that supports our team and those we work alongside across the England-wide VCSE. It's of paramount importance to us that we embody our values and that as a partnership we are accountable and always learning." https://lnkd.in/edGq575n Marcia Fernandes Lisa B. Sarah Greenway Martin Reid Sarah Hislam

We'd love you to join us on Tues 16th July at 10.30am for our next #ConversationSpace - a whole hour of chatting about what matters to YOU as leaders in this changing terrain of grassroots PMH provision. In a climate characterised by change and political uncertainty, we are (once again) thrust into a state of liminality, throwing up big questions about the health landscape and our place as VCSEs within it. As always, the chat is steered by you, but we might cover things like: 🗺 What it takes to navigate the unknown 🔒 Forging trust and advocating for what is important to us as a community 🙋♀️ What good leadership might look like 📈 Exploring the value of the VCSE culture ⚡️ Learning together about gaps and challenges We might also reflect on the idea that leadership isn't solely the domain of a few. We all have the capacity, as ambassadors of the VCSE sector, to embody values and to create a cumulative ripple effect. During the hour, there will be space for honest reflection in a trusted environment, so feel free to share what feels important to you. Similarly you're welcome to sit and listen - whatever feels right for you. Sign up now by visiting the link in our bio or click here: https://lnkd.in/eTrmasUw - spaces are free, but need to be booked in advance as capacity is limited to enable an environment for open, honest chat. ----------------- This month's topic is also a happy reminder to refer to our module on Smart Space, ‘The Growth Curve’, which was co-produced by The Happy Mums Foundation and NCT Parents in Mind. You can sign up for Smart Space (it's FREE!) by following the link in our bio or visiting: https://lnkd.in/eFxnjdgT

Today is International Fathers’ Mental Health Day. 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 We know that perinatal mental health challenges affect the whole family, so it’s vital that dads and non-birthing partners receive safe, compassionate support. 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 At Hearts & Minds we’ve been developing our online map of England-wide VCSE services so families can find out what perinatal mental health support is available in their local community. We already have some services that are specifically developed to support dads and partners on there, but we’re always keen to add more! 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 If you run a grassroots perinatal mental health service for dads or partners, please do submit an application to be on the map via https://lnkd.in/eJYmpZqj 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 🙌 💓 We’re here to support emerging services to develop foundations for growth and to enable all VCSEs to feel connected as part of a broader community. For more information about Hearts & Minds, get in touch via hello@heartsandmindspartnership.org #internationalmfathersmentalhealthday #howareyoudad #dadsmhday #fathers #partners #perinatalmentalhealth #supportfordads #map #support #community

It's an interesting time as we enter a frenetic pre-election period and consider the implications of this on societal infrastructure, investment and, in particular, the health landscape. For the VCSE community it's an opportunity to reflect a little on our role in an integrated health system and the potential we have to collectively leverage rich insights, skills, knowledge and impact in the grassroots. As we reconcile the careful equilibrium between compassion (hearts) and rigour (minds), we notice that this community is: - Entrepreneurial. By virtue of being built from the ground up, often informed by lived experience, and by creating services that didn't historically exist. - Passionate and heart-led. Fuelled by a desire to make a difference and rooted in a trust-based relational approach. - Tenacious and astonishingly resilient. We make limited budgets go incredibly far through great skill and resourcefulness. Imagine what could be achieved with substantial, long-term funding? - Pragmatic and responsive. See how we led the way in the Pandemic by responding intuitively and making services available to meet a growing need? - Discreetly rigorous. Our services our underpinned by complex pathways & policies to embed safety. This is sometimes invisible so beneficiaries feel they're in a warm, relaxed environment - and it sometimes means we are vastly underestimated. - Highly skilled. It's a community brimming with immense skill, from people with multi-sector expertise, who have led, grown & sustained life-changing services in a climate characterised by great adversity. Perhaps, if there is a particular call, it's for recognition of the depth, reach, calibre and impact of the VCSE. For respect and equitable consideration, so that (what can be) an informal narrative of 'nice to have' is acknowledged as 'essential'. #VCSE #perinatalmentalhealth #support #community #Trust #sustainability

Join us on Wed 19th June for our next free #ConversationSpace chat, which will explore all things relating to capacity of VCSE services in perinatal mental health, thresholds and gaps across the landscape. We're hearing from lots of VCSEs that there's pressure felt (quite viscerally) across the system due to stretched statutory services, funding challenges & a rise in demand for support. Many of our services are designed to support parents experiencing mild-moderate mental health issues, but we know in reality our reach extends much further and we often find ourselves holding parents with complex needs in our care. Rooted in local communities, VCSEs are often the first port of call for the most vulnerable and marginalised families. This is an opportunity to discuss ethical and practical decisions around referrals, resourcing and thresholds. It's not an easy conversation, which is why we're creating a trusted space with a cap on attendees to enable an honest chat in a safe, welcoming environment. Register here: https://lnkd.in/e9479kAT #perinatalmentalhealth #vcse #integratedhealthsystem #thresholds #capacity

Gentle reminder that Expressions of Interest are welcome by 5pm this Friday (24th May) for the paid, flexible Root Maker roles at Hearts & Minds. It's vital that families can access safe, compassionate #perinatamentalhealth support in their local community that is diverse, inclusive and representative of local needs. We're keen to work in a collaborative way that upholds reciprocity, because we know how much courage it takes to speak up to enable services to be equitable. We value your time and we'd love you to help us to be more accountable & bring broader perspectives to our work. If you've got experience working in the grassroots VCSE community & you care deeply about inclusive, equitable support for families in the perinatal period, this could be for you! https://lnkd.in/es-DjD3Q We'd really appreciate it if you could share this in your networks so we can reach as many people as possible. #perinatalmentalhealth #equity #diversity #inclusion #support #vcse #community #roles #paid