HS

Question 1

What is the purpose of your organisation?

Answer 1

To provide accessible specialist bereavement services, free of charge, to residents of Walsall.

Question 2

Tell about any community partnerships you hold, and any acknowledgments or from notable organisations.

Answer 2

We have partnerships in the community. We’re involved with the Suicide Prevention Strategy Group, organised through Walsall Council. We’ve been acknowledged by the Child Bereavement Network by being recognised for our ‘Best Practice.’

Question 3

What types of challenges do the community that you work with face?

Answer 3

Often times, the people who need the most help are the most disadvantaged. The population that we serve are often of lower income and live in deprived areas. 20% of of all neighborhoods in Walsall fall amongst 10% most deprived in England, and include the postal areas of WS1, WS2 and WS3.

Question 4

What skills and experience does your organisation have to meet the challenges in or your area/sector?

Answer 4

We have a team of experienced and educated counsellors who have varied backgrounds in

1. Complex grief,
2. Mental health,
3. Substance misuse, etc.

Education–i have a masters in mental health Counselling and over 20 years of service which in includes

1. Mental health case management
2. Management of a residential care facility
3. Advocating for vulnerable adults with learning disabilities, mental health diagnoses and forensic histories.

Question 5

Name three of the most deprived postal areas of Walsall.

Answer 5

WS1, WS2 and WS3.

Question 6

What percentage of Walsall lives in the most deprived areas, with the lowest income in the nation?

Answer 6

20% of Walsall falls within the most deprived and least income of 10% of England

Question 7

What has WBSS done to make services more accessible to families with low income/deprived?

Answer 7

WBSS offers outreach services to schools and other locations to ensure that those people have access to our help.
We also have an out of hours service, enabling children to have services which might be more difficult due to family issues, restrictive schedules, etc.

Question 8

How much are you asking for and over what period?

Answer 8

£30,000 over 3 years. A total of 90K

Question 9

What do you plan to use the monies for?

Answer 9

Running costs of the SWING.
To provide services to bereaved kids/young people with additional mental health/behavioural issues.
Use some of the funding for an additional part-time counsellor in order to increase capacity.

Question 10

Tell me your income and expenditure for WBSS for the past year.

Answer 10

Income: 136K
Expenditures: 127K

Question 11

Who is your work designed to support and what are their needs?

Answer 11

SWING supports bereaved vulnerable kids from the area, who often have complex issues to work through.

Age range is 3-18 years old.

Question 12

What complex issues might your SWING clientele be struggling with?

Answer 12

1. Anxiety
2. Depression
3. Isolation
4. Self-harming
5. Suicide ideation
6. ETOH/substance use and abuse.

Question 13

Name some benefits that a client receiving SWING services might receive?

Answer 13

Our monitoring shows:

1. improved emotional well-being
2. Improved relationships
3. Increased self confidence

Question 14

How does your service help families as a whole?

Answer 14

We help families experiencing breakdown/dysfunction due to misunderstood reactions to grief.
We help clients to acknowledge and understand their feelings, and help them see that their feelings are valid and then work through those feelings.

Question 15

List 4 points which make WBSS a specialised service, unlike other Bereavement services.

Answer 15

It’s major aims are to ensure that residents can access these services,

1. Regardless of income,
2. Age of the bereaved,
3. Nature of death, or
4. When the death occurred.