Community Connections gets a makeover!

Community Connections Surrey is launching new marketing materials with a refreshed brand to promote the service and raise awareness of the free mental health and emotional wellbeing support available to adults, aged 16 and over, across Surrey.

Community Connections Surrey offers 1-1 mental health support, ongoing wellbeing activities and groups, short courses, workshops, crisis support and much more.

The service is traditionally offered face-to-face to people struggling with their mental health but in response to COVID-19 and social distancing rules, the support is currently provided through telephone and video calls, welfare check-ins, online wellbeing activities and groups, with some outdoor activities gradually starting back in small groups.

Safe Haven, their face-to-face crisis support service, has remained open every evening 6pm-11pm throughout the pandemic but only for people experiencing mental health crisis with no COVID symptoms. In July, they launched the service virtually for people in mental health crisis who are unable to attend in person.

What is Community Connections Surrey?
Community Connections Surrey is a service funded by Surrey Heartlands and run by three lead providers from the voluntary sector: Catalyst, Mary Frances Trust and Richmond Fellowship.

Each provider offers support in a different area of Surrey. The areas that each provider covers are as follows:
Catalyst – Guildford & Waverley, Farnham, Woking, Spelthorne, Runnymede, Surrey Heath and West
Elmbridge.
Mary Frances Trust – Mole Valley, Banstead, East Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell.
Richmond Fellowship – Redhill, Reigate, Horley, Salfords, Smallfield & Tandridge

Catalyst and Richmond Fellowship also sub-contract some of their funding to Community Connections partners – Oakleaf, Woking Mind, Guildford Action, Canterbury Care Centre, Voluntary Support North Surrey, Voluntary Action South West Surrey, Creative Response and Reigate Stepping Stones all deliver mental health and wellbeing support for Community Connections Surrey.

What’s on offer?
All providers offer 1-1 mental health support, ongoing wellbeing activities and groups, short courses, workshops, a crisis support service (Safe Haven) and much more. Support is tailored to clients’ individual needs, with the aim of improving and maintaining mental wellbeing.

To receive the free support, people can be referred by their GP and other organisations, or can self-refer without a formal diagnosis by contacting the provider that operates in their area. Once the registration is made, an initial appointment will take place over the phone or via video call to assess the needs and define a wellbeing plan.

The support is available to all adults aged 16 and over, living in Surrey, for as long as is required. People can stop and start using the service again at any point, with no waiting lists or time limits.

All online groups and activities are also listed on the Surrey Virtual Wellbeing Hub on the Healthy Surrey website.

MARKETING MATERIALS

You can download all the new Community Connections Surrey marketing material:
– Community Connections poster
– Community Connections leaflet
– Community Connections infographic – how we work
– Community Connections – our impact
– Community Connections logo

NOTES TO EDITORS
An additional press release about the launch of the virtual Safe Haven crisis support service is available on request.

More information is available on the Community Connections Surrey website:
www.communityconnectionssurrey.com / and Twitter account: @cc_surrey

MEDIA CONTACTS
For more information, interview and media opportunities, please contact:

Connie Ridout, Communications Lead, Mary Frances Trust
07365 265751
connie@maryfrancestrust.org.uk

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