Thursday 26th March 2020 - HMHB update following virus news

Posted 6:00pm

I never thought I would ever see the World like this in my lifetime. Lockdowns, anxiety, bewilderment, all contributing to fear and even desperation.

HMHB has, of course, had to think about the health and safety of all our colleagues and users, and all our services are currently suspended - that includes the courses, gym sessions and walks.

It is actually a fantastic opportunity for people to take a good look at their lives and see where they can make changes to ensure a healthier, happier lifestyle. When do you get the chance to have this amount of time to focus on yourself?

Look at your nutrition and diet - think about cooking more, boosting your immune system and respiratory system, as well as looking after your digestive system.  Think about doing exercises at home, and look at how you can stay fitter.

What a great time to declutter and do all those odd jobs around the house/flat. It is important to stay active - you should not ever say you are bored.

We want to wish all our supporters a healthy safe time. Please social distance if outdoors. And we will see you all as soon as we can.

Wednesday 18th March 2020 - Covid virus; what are HMHB doing?

yep - that's a pic of the virus

Posted 1:15pm

It is about time we dedicated a blog entry to how Covid is affecting HMHB and our project work.  Naturally, we are following Government guidelines and watching all the news.

We were running some courses in Camden and Islington this month with relevant Job Centres in those boroughs. Sadly, we have been informed today that the remaining course dates have had to be cancelled. The Job Centres themselves are closing to all current signees - and people will be contacted over the telephone instead. Only new claimants will have to attend the centres.

This naturally has a knock on effect on HMHB. Lazza has been working as a volunteer for the last three months, but we have had Luke and Dean on payroll - so their money will be reduced. But we still have had costs, including venue, printing, stationery, sustenance on the days (coffee, tea, sugar, biccies, etc.) And there has been prep time too.  We have to justify funding for the work we have done - which we naturally can do, especially when people see the feedback - but I would much rather have worked longer with service users, which is where our strengths lie.

At the moment, we are carrying on with our three fitness sessions. Yes, we know some people are self isolating. But many of us have no symptoms and just want to live our lives, and being physically active is a major part of that - as well as part of why HMHB was created. We want to give opportunities to people to workout together.

This was our group yesterday at Highbury. The virus has scared a lot of people away - and we do note that a lot of our users are older, and several are over 70. The Government recommendation is that anyone over 70 should remain away from social contact for at least the next three to four months.

I am waiting to see how our walk goes tomorrow. We have done our Clissold Park Izzwalkz venture every Thursday since November 2016 and it would be a great shame to cancel. I guess it is all down to if people turn up. If the need is there, I will continue.

Lawrence, Luke and Dean continue to want to keep HMHB going as long as we can. We love what we do, and none of us have symptoms at the moment. Of course, if anything develops we will follow all the guidelines. Meanwhile, it is business as usual for us.

Thank you everyone for your love and support, over many months. We wish everyone a safe and healthy few weeks and months, especially the tricky ones ahead. Please, stay calm. The mortality rate is extremely low, but everyone is worrying, naturally, about worst case scenarios. Stay hydrated, keep eating healthy food, and maybe use this time productively to get things done indoors. Do exercise a bit. I know that can be tough, but you need to keep moving and be active.

Hugs and love!!  xx

Tuesday 17th March 2020 - Great feedback at Kentish Town

Posted 2:20pm

So after weeks and weeks of effort, contacting, visiting, and general hard work, we finally managed to get Camden Job centre at Kentish Town to start a three session course at their offices - and, of course, it went down really well.

We had seven people at our course, which was only Lazza and Luke, as we had to do it in the afternoon to fit in with their schedule. Dean works in the afternoons.

It was a cracking session - we concentrated on mindset with our quiz, exercise in 2 parts (stretches and boxability), and nutrition - which was a fascinating interaction around Protein. We are trying to bring in new information, and are learning all the time new facts.

Both the disability officers for Kentish Town sat in on the session, and their feedback was just as good - praising our unique delivery and style, our content and knowledge, and expressing how much they would love us to do more - and that was after one week.

This is why we deserve our opportunity of funding.

Thursday 12th March 2020 - Good news at last

Posted 2:40pm

It has been a tough old week for HMHB - but finally we can report some good news. And this also proves the benefit of a growth mind-set, as well as the benefits of perseverance.

As those who follow the blog will know - Monday and Wednesday courses were washouts. And that could have caused us severe problems with funders. A few years ago, it could have been a disaster, with mental health ramifications and a lot of tears. But this week we were able to turn the troubles around immediately and it may have even been to our benefit.

I know that Kentish Town Job Centre have finally pulled their fingers out and we should be getting a decent number on Monday afternoon for the first of our three sessions, now being held at the Job Centre itself. I will be heading to the centre tomorrow afternoon to chat to the disability officer and catch up on what they have been doing.

I am also thankful that Dean and I went to meet the DWP Borough Manager for Islington this morning, Geoff. He was fantastic in helping us out. We had no attendees yesterday, and that was down to apathy and a lack of internal communication at the Job Centre at Barnsbury. But we have been invited to chat to their Legacy groups tomorrow morning, as well as Monday and Tuesday.  That should be a total of over 70 people, so I would hope we could get at least 10 people from that for the final two sessions we will be running - as well as people to our fitness sessions.

It has really lifted spirits, which I admit had sunk a bit. We need to be able to prove to funders we are worth a risk and a shot at being part of the mental health intervention in different boroughs.

Wednesday 11th March 2020 - solving problems

Posted 2:30pm

It feels like my last few blog entries have all focused on overcoming a problem. And this one is just the same.  After a good few weeks of solid progress, we have have to face some severe difficulties, all caused by outside organisations who should know better.

This morning we were very excited to be working with Barnsbury Job Centre clients. The course had been well promoted by ourselves. We have gone into the job centre and spoken directly at a job coach meeting to all of the staff. We had met with and discussed the project with the overall boss and the disability officers. We had spoken with the staff overseeing the "Legacy"" groups, and even were invited to speak to a couple of the groups. All of which created enthusiasm and questions.

It came to this morning - and nobody came. Absolutely zero. Which we find very difficult to understand. Not a single person was referred by a job coach. Not one!!!! And they saw the last report with the incredible feedback. IIt feels like a general apathy and "who cares?" feeling.

Luke, Dean and I left feeling a bit deflated. I have spoken with the overall DWP Manager for Islington and am seeing him tomorrow morning to see how we can ensure we get numbers for next week

To say I was excited to be working alongside the job centres in Camden and Islington in February and March would be an understatement.  I was thrilled. We have prepared heavily, working very hard to expand the sessions, improve the interactive parts, and really bring an amazing unique fresh approach to mental health. It has created wonderful feedback and I know we can continue to do that. The possibilities are huge - especially as we want to branch into corporate and beyond. But we need seed funding and they will only give us that if we provide enough evidence.

It's a challenge. We are again facing it head on. That's three days on the trot where we have had to deal with negativity. Let's hope the rest of the week is better. :-)

Tuesday 10th March 2020 - how a comment can affect your day

"One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am"

Michelle Obama

Posted 2:30pm

HMHB is really being tested at the moment. I keep saying it, but dealing with large organisations who are meant to have the best intentions for their clients can be frustrating, as there appears to be a kind of apathy and "could not care less" attitude with some of their staff.

I do have an example.

We are dealing with a large business at the moment. We are looking to work with some of their users. We have spent a lot of time and effort in building up a rapport and trust. This has involved talking to their users to promote our course.
I popped in this morning to talk to one of the bosses who oversees the group this morning. Just to check on numbers attending. I was my normal bubbly self, in fact quite upbeat and polite.
We have found you get the best results from people when you are attentive and interested in them. If you are pleasant and smiling, and listen and chat, it can bring out the best in that person. Something as simple as a kind word or action can go a long way, and even influence how they feel during the day.
The person this morning was none of those. They were dismissive, impolite, and treated me as if I was an inconvenience, a nuisance, and that they did not want to interact at all. I was seriously taken aback as this has not happened to me for a very long time.  Maybe they were having a bad day, who knows?  But they deal front line with people going through mental health issues and problems, and if they are like that to me, and I am quite a strong person, then how are they with others.

I decided to follow up with an email, and mentioned how I felt. And for me to complain, then it has to have been bad.

I put this, as we are dealing with a varied client base. But many will have some kind of mental health problem, and we are also trying to show guidance of dealing with any future issues that may arise. A simple smile and greeting can go a long way to making someone comfortable. An encouraging voice will build you up. Negativity breeds negativity. It was such a freakish weird event I just wanted to share.

I now worry if we will get numbers to our course tomorrow. I thought we would be getting at least 8-15 people, but because of their attitude and apathy I fear a very small number, if any at all.

Monday 9th March 2020 - How do we solve a problem like "numbers"?

Posted 2:00pm

With any project, we come across problems on a daily basis. Situations that need a bit of creative thinking to overcome.  Creating solutions can be tricky, but it needs a calm head. HMHB have come across one such problem today, but some quick thinking of on the part of Lazza just may have saved the day - and in fact turned a disappointing moment into an opportunity.

We had the second of our five days at Regents Park today. As part of our Camden Giving Funding we had to work with clients from that area - especially looking to provide intervention around anxiety and stress, as that area has been affected bv the recent HS2 controversy.

Last week, although we had advertised it very well, we were reliant on outside organisations, including the job centre, to provide us with numbers. Sadly, we were let down badly. We still did a half morning, which went down well, but we needed numbers to increase.

We worked very hard last week, contacting, communicating, and promoting again - and I know that at least 6-8 people were advised to attend, and were going to come. So this morning, Lazza and his team set up in preparation. Nobody came.  So what were we to do? We needed to provide evidence to the funders, as well as justify the amount we have been given. (ironically unlike the HS2 who can fabricate figures and end up £50 billion over budget!!).

Lazza came up with a great idea, but we were reliant on the Job Centre going along with the plans. We could still work with Regents Park clients, but run the course at Kentish Town Job Centre itself. The users know the venue, go there anyway, and there is space in the basement.

We contacted the Disability Officers straight away. Thankfully, we will be able to do that - so from next Monday afternoon we will run a three session programme starting on the 16th. They say they can almost guarantee numbers, and would actively promote this. Naturally, let us wait and see, but I think it is the only option. And it could prove a terrific opportunity, as the disability officer can sit in on the programme and actually see us at work.

Life is about overcoming challenges - which is the basis around HMHB and Ajani. Let us see how this turns out.

Friday 6th March 2020 - Devising new games is great fun

Posted 3:20pm

Part of building a course around mind-set, health, exercise, nutrition and routine, is constantly looking to keep it fresh. And that means coming up with new ideas of how to get our message across. That can be a lot of fun.

With our "mind-set" section, we currently use quizzes, interactive games, and intervention that is meant to make you think. With that in mind, I wanted to come up with a new way of seeing how we deal with situations, and using our knowledge and thought process to come up with the best solution possible.

I then had a brain wave. How about getting the group to solve a crime? That quickly developed into creating a murder mystery, where they get the synopsis, all the clues, with red herrings,, and see if they can come up with the name of the killer.

I am delighted to announce that I have done that - I do admit I have used a novel as a base, by a terrific crime writer, but it is one of their lesser known works. I like it because the clues are all given to you, but in a way where you maybe do not realise what they are. There is misdirection taking you onto a wild goose chase. It will be interesting to see how that pans out.

We are also looking at different parts of Nutrition now as well.  We currently cover a simple guide to Protein, Carbohydrates, Sugars, Fats, Vitamins and Minerals, linking it all to metabolism, your body, and chemical reactions.
We have decided to broaden out a bit more to cover Antioxidants, Free Radicals, Nutrients that are not vitamins, and Fibre. There are plenty more things to do as well. It is a fascinating subject.

Finally, we are also looking to shake up a bit on exercise. We cover a lot of different ways we do movement, including boxability, high intensity (with various fun games), balance, and circuits, but want to try out something even newer. We introduced fitness to a major organisation's clients, and they now have won awards because they took it on themselves (sadly no recognition for us though).

We want to keep developing, adapting and creating. The feedback is terrific, and part of that is down to the large range of activities we provide. It is important that we continue to develop.

Wednesday 4th March 2020 - Busy Busy - Regents Park thoughts

Posted 10:40am

That pic above is just how I feel. It is terrific to actually be busy, but it feels like the "to-do" list is never ending. And we are continually coming up against organisations that appear to have incredible apathy. I think we just have to keep persevering.

We were meant to be running a course on the Cumberland Market Estate, near to Regent's Park in Camden, on Monday. Despite our efforts to promote it with countless places, we had just one referral - which was very disappointing. The lady in question was lovely - going through quite an anxious time, but was sent to us through the local Regents Park Health Centre. We still did an hour, chatting, and hopefully she will come back next week.  But following that - we chased up multiple organisations that should have sent people to us.

Our biggest issue - apart from money - is getting people to us. Our delivery and product is good - we have the feedback to prove that. We are, though, in the hands of others when it comes to numbers.

I have arranged two outings for the next five weeks. On Thursday 26rh March we will be heading to Islington Museum, who have agreed to give us a quick tour of the place before allowing us to spend out own time looking about. We have been there before, and it is an eye opener about the Borough and its history. This trip is more for our walkers, but I have invited some of our service users too.
On Wednesday 15th April, I have booked another trip to the impressive Sky Garden at Fenchurch Street. We will be taking our service users here - we brought our walkers last year.

Glad to report that all three of our fitness sessions are going well. Amazing thanks to Better Gym for allowing us in.