In partnership with Communities Together, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is providing mental health and guidance support through the Community Lounges initiative to attendees of Port Vale FC’s Community Lounge.
The club’s Tommy Cheadle’s Community Cupboard recently hosted another of the Communities Together Lounges for local residents and their families. The Community Lounge at Port Vale FC was the first to be established as part of the initiative, and it continues to be a great success with over 100 people attending every week to receive support.
The Community Cupboard Lounge runs weekly on a Friday morning from 10am to midday and there is also a social club for those aged 55+, Golden which runs on a Thursday each week from 10am to midday.
The local Community Lounge offer is tailored to provide support to the community across 18 locations, making them easily accessible to local people. Free of charge to attend, the Lounges aspire to create a sense of pride and belonging within the community and maximise the strengths of our connections. The Lounges provide a place for residents, families and individuals to gain local advice and support on a range of topics. Read more about the partnership between Combined Healthcare and Communities Together here.
As part of the support offered by Combined Healthcare, an occupational therapy assistant employed by the trust attends Golden Valiants on a Thursday. A number of support time recovery (STR) workers attend the Community Cupboard Lounge on a Friday morning to offer mental health and wellbeing guidance. They also signpost to the Combined Wellbeing Portal and the Primary Care Mental Health team who link in with GPs across the region. The role of the STR workers is to prevent mental health crisis and offer support at the point of need in an accessible way.
In addition to Combined Healthcare, there are a number of partner organisations that attend the Lounge as part of the Innovation Team which can be adjusted and changed to meet the needs of the people who attend. Currently, the Lounge is also supported by employees from Step On, who offer employment services and training opportunities, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Glow, emergency services and Port Vale Foundation.
The Lounge at Port Vale FC can support with the following areas:
- Mobility.
- Carer support.
- Community activities.
- Hearing impairments.
- Housing.
- Assistive technology.
- Loneliness and isolation.
- Lifestyle.
- Financial support.
- Shopping and food.
- Transport.
- Employment.
