New pilot for mental health services

National charity Ambient Support, one of the top 20 generic notfor-profit health and social care providers in the UK, working in partnership with Penge Churches, the Integrated Commissioning Board (ICB), NHS and local authority, has launched a new pilot mental health housing support service in the London Borough of Bromley.

Stafford House consists of 13 self-contained studios and onebedroom flats for people with mental health and related complex needs. This new service will provide an effective move on the pathway for people into independent accommodation.

The support model will focus on tenancy sustainment, wellbeing, and choice and control, plus skills for independent living. Staff will deliver flexible support, which

Moving Pictures project launches

The Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) is on a mission to bring older people together and spark creativity through its Moving Pictures programme.

WOFFF’s biggest and ultimate goal is to achieve equality and parity for older women in film. They aim to do this by spotlighting women over 50 who are making films and championing all filmmakers who are centring women over 50 in their work.

Moving Pictures works with care homes, community centres and charities across the UK, giving older people the opportunity to enjoy selected short films from talented independent filmmakers and use creativity to express their feelings about what they see.

First piloted in Glasgow in 2021, Moving Pictures utilises WOFFF’s collection of short films to bring independent cinema to older people who may feel will include core hours across the day and evening, combined with personalised one-to-one support to aid people’s individual recovery journeys. Ambient will also be piloting the use of smart-home technology to keep people safe in their own home.

Gina Benjamin, Head of Business Development at Ambient, said, ‘We are delighted to be working in close collaboration with our partners to deliver an innovative model of support that benefits people with mental health needs to lead independent lives. Using smart home technology, we hope to demonstrate positive outcomes by moving from traditional 24-hour staffed support to a service where smart home technology enables people to be safe whilst reducing the need for onsite support.’ isolated or disconnected from their communities.

At the end of 2022, Moving Pictures ran sessions in a series of community venues and care homes across London, supported by the Future London’s Foundations Programme, cofunded by City of London and a Make it Happen award from Waltham Forest Council.

Moving Pictures is now seeking funding to expand the programme nationally, drawing on a wealth of independent short films to encourage creativity, connection and collaboration across the UK.

Care homes, charities and community venues can work with Moving Pictures to secure a programme pack, which includes a DVD of 11 WOFFF short films and creative activity worksheets to engage older people in spoken, written and drawn responses to the films they watch.