A Warrington volunteer coordinator has been rewarded for ‘dreaming big’ after initiating a mindfulness course at her workplace.
Beverly Brindle, who works for the national adult health and social care charity Making Space, came up with the idea for the course and developed the sessions at Warrington Day Service, a community day service for people with mental health problems on Allen Street.
As volunteer coordinator for Making Space, Beverly is responsible for recruiting and supervising volunteers to help run the service. And, after coming up with the idea for mindfulness sessions, Making Space has singled Bev out for their ‘Living our Values’ award, which recognises people who ‘dream big’ and exceed expectations.
Beverly’s manger, Stephanie Dolan, said: “Bev has taken on some extra training and has created her own mindfulness class here at the Warrington Day Service, which has proven incredibly popular among our service users.
“Not only has she been supporting others to try new things by attending the class, she also had to overcome her own nerves to do what’s best for the people she supports. Bev has really grown in self-confidence and worked hard to make sure each session was built around the needs of the people she supports.”
The Warrington Day Service offers activities and support for people with mental health problems. Beverly works with the 17 volunteers who help to run the service’s social activities, which include arts and crafts, cooking classes, a lunch club, bingo, reading and poetry groups. Qualified support workers offer talking support for people who feel anxious, depressed or lonely.
Beverly came up with the idea for the mindfulness sessions after realising that many of the people who attend the Warrington Day Service were struggling with intrusive thoughts and finding it difficult to relax.
She explains: “When people first come to the service, we spend some time discussing what help they need and how we can support them. It’s our aim to make people feel comfortable and relaxed in the best way we can, and I noticed that many people described feeling very anxious and agitated, more so than usual since the covid pandemic.
“I decided to do some research into mindfulness after one of our visiting guests came in to speak to our service users about using the technique to relax. After doing some research and online training, I suggested the idea to Steph, my manager, and she agreed that I could offer it as a service for a few weeks.
“People who struggle with mental health problems often focus on the past and have negative thought patterns, so what I wanted to do was help them to be in the present, not judge themselves or dwell on past negative experiences, and use a series of exercise and techniques to help create a more positive and calm mindset. The sessions covered things like taking notice of your senses, being aware of the environment, mindful eating, recognising and acknowledging negative thought patterns, daily affirmations, positivity and self-care.”
The group was a huge success, with up to 20 people attending each session. And, says Bev, they had the added benefit of helping her to overcome her own issues with confidence and self-esteem.
“My mindset has completely changed since I started researching mindfulness, planning the sessions and working with our service users. I recognise negative thoughts and conversations for what they are and turn them into positives, always look for the good in every day, and I’m grateful to get up every morning and work with such lovely volunteers, colleagues and people who come into the service.
“It sounds like a cliché, but coming to work every day is like coming into my second home with one big extended family. Being given an award for doing something I love is an added bonus!”
Bev received a certificate and voucher from Making Space, whose chief people officer Phil Orton said: “Our teams here work so hard to support the people they work with, so we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to help them to do that.
“We want to recognise and celebrate the things people do every day to make someone’s day meaningful – often, they don’t even realise themselves. It’s very important to us to highlight the little acts of kindness and the things our teams do that go above and beyond, not because they’re expecting a reward, but simply because they care.
“Bev is a great example of someone who gives her all – she dreams big, she exceeds expectations, she’s creative and flexible and she supports others to explore new things – even when it takes her out of her own comfort zone.
“We’re very proud to give her this Living our Values award in recognition of that.”
