Friday 28th June 2019 - Independent Fundraiser by "Open Destinations"

Posted 2:40pm

Wow!!  It feels so nice to be recognised for the work we are doing, and out of the blue we find that a local business - Open Destinations - has chosen us to be one of three local charities they are raising money for next week.

It is really flattering - especially as funding is tight and has come along at a great time. We have our fantastic fitness sessions, and there are monthly overheads we need to cover, and this gives us that opportunity to do that.

We are really grateful, and it means we are clearly doing something right. Keeping fingers crossed hopefully we can get over £200 and maybe even up to around £400 or £500 - which is great news for our service users who will get the benefit.

What a fantastic way to end this week. With a broad smile!!! Yay!!

Thursday 27th June 2019 - Taster was a success

Posted 7:20pm

Our terrific Dean (PT Zombie) above, putting the group on Wednesday through some dynamic stretching exercises as part of our Taster program with Peabody.

It was a good morning, and we had 11 people attend representing various organisations covering three London boroughs - Islington, Haringey and Hackney - plus a latecomer from Camden.

We did out usual look at Mindset, as well as Exercise (as clearly indicated) and nutrition - and were fairly pleased with it all. On reflection, and maybe this is self-critical, I feel we could have done more, encouraged better interaction, and I know we left out a couple of things. But the feedback on the day was good - we will be getting written feedback from people too.

It was a good experience to work with a group of people who were all employed, and therefore a different dynamic to other courses. The questions were more on topic maybe, and our outcomes were also changed from other courses.

Sunday 23rd June 2019 - Excited for Wednesday taster - and J Corbyn meet

Posted 12:45pm

This "taster" with Peabody is going to be awesome - not only to show what we can do, but also the number of people attending - and their importance to our possible future.

It looks as if it will be the largest group we would have worked with so far - I am hoping we are looking at over 15. Naturally, we will probably get drop outs, but it will be in double figures. And a different dynamic to what we have covered so far. Most will be employed, in fairly high up jobs, and can help decision making when it comes to possible work, and even future finance.

So no pressure then!!!

But it is also exciting. What a great way for us to demonstrate our unique delivery, our fun approach, and our passion for this intervention. We have two hours to get the group thinking, active, and showing that they need to give us the chance to work with them.

Following that - we have organised a meeting with Jeremy Corbyn for Friday. This follows the recent announcement from the government on early mental health intervention - looking at preventive. HMHB has been working on that for a long time. We need to speak to government and that means someone facilitating those meetings. That is what we need JC to do. But also, we need funding now. There must be some doors he can open. I know he likes what we have done. I know he understands about mental health issues. We also appreciate he is incredibly busy, so feel humbled he is meeting with us. But we have to grab this chance with both hands.

Sunday 23rd June 2019 - Teaming up with Aquaterra

where we have our saturday morning session

Posted 12:35pm

We met with Penny, CEO of Aquaterra this week. They oversee the Exercise on Referral Scheme in Islington and Camden, which uses the Better gyms in the boroughs for their project. They also oversee the Rebalance Weight Management course that Lazza recently finished.

Delighted to say they like what HMHB is doing, and agree the need is there to help people with lower incomes to get access to group exercise opportunities. Their courses are 12 weeks, whereas we are ongoing, and they are happy to refer people to us following a successful completion of their courses. This can really boost our numbers and profile - working alongside a large established company like this.

We have to go over the small print as such. There is a need to make sure insurance matters are covered, as well as reporting on success and feedback and outcomes. We are anxious not to tread on anyone's toes. They do some great work, and we do not want to be seen to be interfering at all.

Another plus point for us. Ultimately, we have the same desire - to help as many people as possible improve their fitness, get chances to work with a personal trainer, and build confidence.

Sunday 23rd June 2019 - Saddle and Sole event last weekend

Posted 12:30pm

Very proud to be invited as a walking representative at the Saddle and Sole event in Finsbury Park last Sunday. It was a bit of a cold and wet midday start - and you only see the one banner in the picture as the wind was proving to be tough for our Ajani one to stand up. The Izzwalkz one in the picture was very tightly attached to the table!!

We had leaflets to give out, and met and chatted with quite a few of the attendees - it had mostly been a cycling event up to now, so many people came with their bikes and gear. Even so, it was good to be noticed.

We were meant to be managing a couple of "healthy walks" during the day. But it appeared that nobody wanted to do that. The weather did clear up half way through the afternoon to bright sunshine (although still windy).

Wednesday 19th June 2019 - Lottery - change of direction

Posted 1:15pm

This lottery proposal is incredibly stressful - we have to get it right.

With that in mind, we originally were putting in for three years - covering salaries and overheads, and the amount was therefore quite high.

We know the North London representative ad sent it off for them to appraise. The feedback was that we have naturally come a long way, but were still fairly new and therefore a large amount would be seen as high risk.

We have chatted internally and decided we will now emphasise a one year application, working with partners, looking at future contracts, but also demonstrating the need for "preventive" intervention, and how our pioneering approach meets that need. We feel we will have more chance of success with a one year application - and see how we go from there.

So I am adjusting the current proposal and will again let others review it. I have also adjusted spreadsheets accordingly.

How on earth are new projects expected to get off the ground if funding as seen as a risk???

Friday 14th June 1019 - another busy week done - and lets look at next week

Posted 2:40pm

That's another busy week just about gone. But fruitful and we continue to move forward.

Also, as people know, it was a difficult one for medical reasons for Lazza, with cataract surgery booked for the end of next week (following an assessment this week), an MRI on his knee (and seeing doctor next week on those results), and discovering he will probably need surgery on a troublesome Hernia, which is causing quality of life issues.

But, lets concentrate on HMHB - it's more fun (is that the word I am looking for??).

We are getting a good crowd of prominent relevant people to attend our Peabody taster on the 26th. Multiple boroughs, and reps from public health and dwp will be attending - as well as quite a few other organisations. It means we have to provide a truly fun memorable session - so the pressure is on.

I have also been sorting through emails - this after sorting out the photos and videos. Today I managed to remove 200 from the system, and have updated our Access Database accordingly too. It enabled me to email a few people that I had not contacted for over a year, and in some cases nearly two years.

We have nearly got the lottery proposal ready. It is being refined and although I wanted to get it off this week - I have extended my own deadline to next Wednesday, by the latest. It is a bit like an artist finishing a painting. At some stage we need to step back and just say we have done the best we possibly can.

So next week: 17th to 21st.
Finish Lottery proposal and send it off
Start preparing for the Peabody Taster Session in earnest
Meeting with Aquaterra about our desire to partner with them
Look at all other funding opportunities - we cannot just focus on lottery - although that is the big one
Get accounts up to date - i meant to recently but lottery was more important
Contact as many people who have been through Ajani to see how they are doing
Lazza has Cataract surgery on right eye Friday morning - so that will be a day of rest!!

Wednesday 12th June 2019 - 400th Blog Entry - why this blog?

Posted 2:00pm

Wow. This is really the 400th blog entry on this Healthy Minds blog, which details our history, development, successes and frustrations.

I am actually quite proud. Before HMHB I had never created a blog, or even had an idea I could do it.I know people read it, as we get statistics - it would be lovely to have more people.

This blog will probably stop - or slow down - as we get funding (and I put "get" as I am sure we will). It has been more about telling our story. Starting a business is incredibly difficult - especially when our focus is on improving mental health in others from a new perspective.

Companies are very protective - and I do not blame them as funding is restricted and maybe they feel we are saying they are doing something wrong - which is not the case. We just feel we have a new angle to offer.

But thank you to anyone who reads this - thank you if you have been following us - please please continue to do so and support us. The journey has been been - to use a common metaphor - a rollercoaster - terrific highs, some deep lows, and a winding track. But we have always moved forward and tried to see things as a challenge to overcome.

May this continue for another 400 entries.

Tuesday 11th June 2019 - Mental Health First Aid

Posted 12:00pm

Working in this field will mean we will come across a great diversity of characters, all at different stages of possible physical and mental health problems. It is important we have the right tools to deal with this.

Haringey Well-Being run courses, which are free for people delivering intervention, and they have invited us to attend one of these - which is really kind of them.

Over the two days, the Mental Health First Aid course will teach us to:
· Spot the early signs of a mental health problem
· Feel confident helping someone experiencing a problem
· Provide help on a first aid basis
· Help prevent someone from hurting themselves or others
· Help stop a mental illness from getting worse
· Help someone recover faster
· Guide someone towards the right support
· Reduce the stigma of mental health problems

It is towards the end of August - and we have signed up. Oh, I hope we get this lottery money. We are so ready to work with people!!!

Sunday 9th June 2019 - the week ahead for HMHB and Lazza

Posted 4:15pm

It is another busy week, both for HMHB and for Lazza.
Let's explain.

For HMHB
Tuesday we have our fifth Tuesday fitness session - this week Dean will be managing it on his own. It is fantastic that Highbury Leisure allow us this opportunity, and we are hopeful this will continue to build.
Thursday we have our weekly health walk through Clissold with Highbury Grange Medical Practice. Last week we had two new members, so hopefully they will return.
Lazza is also meeting up with a company that organises free fitness sessions in Haringey - a really interesting guy who, like us, is passionate about helping people.
Friday - is our own deadline for getting in our lottery proposal. This is probably the most important document I have ever produced - with terrific help from others - and really determines if we are able to carry on. No pressure then!!!
Sunday - we are the lead walk organisation at the Saddle and Sole event in Finsbury Park - managing two health walks - and this could really put us on the map. Wow!!!

Personally.
I am only putting this here to demonstrate that we all have our lives to lead, whatever we are doing workwise. The stress and anxiety is for us all.
Monday - early evening I am heading to Stratford for an MRI on my knee - and I am desperate to get it sorted as it restricts exercise and walking a bit. There is something wrong inside, and I fear an operation at some stage.
Tuesday - morning is a pre-op meeting at Moorfields for the cataract surgery I need on my right eye - which I am hoping will happen at the end of this month or start of July. It is like a frosted glass view at the moment - in contrast to the clear vision in my left eye.
Wednesday - I have a broken tooth, as well as a filling that has fallen out - so heading to dentisr.
Friday - in the morning i am visiting University College Hospital Euston to see a Gastroenterologist re my Hiatus Hernia, which causes me such irritation, sleep issues, and acid reflux like you would not believe.

Starting a business is fraught enough. I am thankful though. I am not complaining about my health. I know that others connected to HMHB, as well as our service users, I much more severe issues and we naturally wish everyone speedy recoveries.  I just wanted to show that we are all human, all fragile, and all need support.  Yay!!!

Sunday 9th June 2019 - Health Blog Update

www.healthymindshealthybods.blogspot.com

Posted 4:15pm

I am really enjoying finding entries for you Health Blog - address above. Please read this entry, then check it out. We would love people to follow it, leave comments, and share it.

This week we started doing a few series on our entries.
On nutrition, fat has had a lot of bad press over the last few years. But we have done a feature on ten High Fat foods that are good for you. I learnt a bit myself here, especially around nutrients and how fat interacts. Obviously, we need to try and avoid Trans-Fats, but other fats are essential.

On routine, we looked at how people can feel tired. That can be down to many different factors, but we looked at ten medical reasons that we can be fatigued - and yes that included mental health too. Sleep deprivation can have a massive effect on how we make choices.

In regards to mental health, we looked at nine ways we can improve our mental health. We all have a responsibility to make the best choices possible on our physical and mental health. That obviously has a knock on effect into our daily lives.

There are other entries, but one I found fascinating to research was our entry on "what are vitamins" - not looking at individual ones - we will do that soon though. This was looking at them overall, and how they react in the body. I learnt things I did not know.

I hope people will check it all out. There are 194 entries this year, so far!!!!

Wednesday 5th June 2019 - All videos and photos are labelled

Posted 4:35pm

It has taken a while, but finally I managed to sort all out videos and photographs into order.

Whenever we take a photo or video, it automatically saves on the cloud, so goes from my mobile phone to my laptop. The same goes if I get sent a video or photo - for example our PT Dean may record some of our fitness sessions.

Of course, this means that all the photographs and videos are not titled - they all just have a jpeg number or video number. How were we meant to know when they were taken, or why?

Therefore, I have just renamed all of them accordingly. There were 43 various videos - all of which needed dates and explanations. We now have them in order, and includes exercise sessions, feedback comments, and updates on how we are doing.

Then there were 228 photographs. I am so happy we have been documenting since we started, although |I did notice we need to take more during our Ajani programmes. We have lots from Izzwalkz and the Studio sessions.

It has been wonderful reminding myself of our journey in the last 30 months. And I really hope this continues for years to come.

Tuesday 4th June 2019 - second draft of lottery done

Posted 12:30pm

This lottery proposal is not an easy job. They only want a few sheets initially, but there are six big questions to answer:

these include - background, what we will be doing, what we will achieve, who we will be working alongside, how much we need and for how long, the impact on local community etc.

I have done a second draft. However, ignoring the cover page it is just over 6 pages - but that does have a couple of photos included.

I am anxious that we may get turned down if they do not understand the efforts we have gone through, the thousands of hours of preparation, and the passion we have for this - as well as the large number of significant partners we have garnered. On the flip side, I do not want to bore them with unnecessary information. It is a balance - but one that can decide our whole future careers.

I have left it with Scott to look over. I am sure there will be cuts galore. Lol.  Why does there have to be so much stress????

Sunday 2nd June 2019 - Biggest month so far for HMHB

Posted 2:20pm

I think the last five years of work, the last two and a half years of trading (mostly voluntarily) have now come down to the most important month ever for Healthy Minds, Healthy Bods.

From our first walk back in November 2016, to our first program, back in May 2017, we have been working towards this moment. We have provided programs to Single Homeless Project with people on recovery, to Anchor Hanover Residential Housing with over 55s. We have health-walked in Clissold Park in partnership with Highbury Grange Medical Practice and now are doing the same with Better Gym in Highbury Fields. We have built networks with Hackney and Islington Public Health, grown relationships with Islington CCG and Haringey Well-Being Network, and have worked in three London boroughs. And it has all been leading to this month.

That's because we have just finished our second draft of a lottery proposal for seed funding. It will  probably change a little more, but we will be sending it off to the North London representative on Friday 14th June - just twelve days from now.  We need salaries, running costs and overheads, and we are looking for three years of funding - depending on feedback and outcomes - but if they are anything like the extraordinary and terrific comments and results we have achieved so far, we should be fine. Therefore, it is a lot of money - but good value when  you look at numbers and the short and long term goals.

Not only that, but we really need to get our website finished (corporate page needs doing, as well as walk and fitness session updates). We have accounts to publish. We have an upcoming taster with the one of the largest Housing Associations in the country. If that goes well we could find other links and networks, and establish ourselves more. We have been asked to oversee two health walks at an event where thousands will be attending - which is both daunting and exciting.

On a personal note - and I only mention as it will affect all the above, as well as demonstrate why a growth mind-set has to be the way to success - I will be having four hospital visits in the next two weeks - definitely two operations to organise and possibly three -  including eyes, leg and stomach. That should be fun!!!

It's funny how inevitably we are back with our future in the hands of others. We have done everything asked of us - provided programs, achieved success, built networks, found the need and designed and delivered the unique intervention. If others do not see the ambition, passion and possibilities then it will all come to nothing. But we can be proud of what we have done. But here's hoping!!!!

Thanks to anyone who reads this for your support and friendship.