Time to Change Champions Fund

Time to Change Champions Fund

Introduction

As part of our local Hubs offer, Time to Change will provide each successful area with a one-off Champions Fund of £10,000. This money can only be used to support local Time to Change Championsto deliverlocal social contact activities. Examples of social contact and previous activities supported through Champions Funds can be found in appendix A.

Champions who meet certain eligibility criteria will be able to apply for small amounts of money, from £100 - £500, to run social contact activities within their area. The funding will be administered by the Hub Coordinator organisation (anticipated to be a local voluntary sector organisation) with support from Time to Change.

Each Hub Coordinator will also receive £15,000 to help cover the costs of administering both the Fund and wider Hub activity.

This document explains a bit more about the Fund and how it is intended to work.

Purpose

The overall aims of the Fund mirror that of Time to Change as a whole, i.e. to:

Empower people with experience of mental health problems to speak out

Change behaviour and attitudes towards people with mental health problems

Reduce the levels of reported stigma and discrimination in the area

The Fund supports these objectives by allowing local champions to apply for funding to plan and run their own local social contact event. By doing so, we hope to engage people with experience of mental health problems and enable them to lead social change within their own communities; communities whose needs, and how best to effectively engage them, they understand better than anyone.

As a result of the Champions Fund we would like to see:

An increased number of people with experience of mental health problems engaged with and leading campaign activity

Anti-stigma work genuinely owned by local individuals, groups and communities

Partner organisations who are equipped to organise and support social leadership within their communities

A reduction in mental health stigma and discrimination across a diverse range of local communities

Managing the Champions Fund

Whilst all Hub partnership members are expected to be actively engaged in promoting and supporting the delivery of the Champions Fund, as the recipient of Time to Change’s financial contribution to it, the Hub Coordinator will be required to sign a short funding agreement with Time to Change. A payment schedule will be agreed upon completion of the funding agreement, with the Champions Fund and Time to Change’s contribution to Hub Coordinator operating costs being paid directly to the nominated organisation at the agreed milestones.

The Hub Coordinator organisation istherefore primarily responsible theeffective management and administration of the Champions Fund, including;

Coordinating the promotion of the Champions Fund across the Hub members

Supporting local Champions to apply for the fund

Ensuring quick and accessible payment mechanisms for successful Champions

Light touch reporting to the Hub and Time to Change on activity delivered and financial management

The £10,000 fund itself should be fully distributed over at least two rounds of grant funding. Local Hub partnership members are of course welcome to contribute additional funding to the Champion’s Fund, should they be in a position to be able to do so.

Time to Change’s Senior Hubs Officer and your local Communities Equalities Coordinator will be able to support and advise local Hubs in the set up and management of their respective Champion’s Fund.

Eligibility

What type of activity is eligible?

The Champions Fund can only be used to support social contact activity.

Social contact often takes place in a neutral setting where the participants can get to know each other on a personal level before discussing mental health. As much of its strength comes from humanising the impact of mental health stigma and discrimination, social contact is generally most effective when it is done face-to-face.

Effective social contact is a meaningful, equal and reciprocal conversation where someone with experience of mental health problems shares their experiences with another person in order to positively influence their understanding, attitudes and behaviours about mental health. Therefore, for Champions Fund activities, we ask that only individuals who would describe themselves as someone who has had a mental health problem at some point should be considered.

The majority of social contact events are public events or online conversations about mental health on social media; on Forums, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Training on Social Contact will be available to potential applicants and staff within Hubs.

Examples of social contact and previous activities supported through Champions Funds can be found in appendix A.

What is not eligible for funding?

The Champions Fund cannot be used to pay for;

Purchase of equipment (e.g. cameras, computers, phones)

Training courses

Salary costs

Any activity solely based in a workplace (i.e. not public facing / community based).

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

To be eligible to apply for the Champion’s Fund, applicants must;

Be over 18 years of age
Be registered as a Time to Change Champion
Have experience of mental health problems
Live or work within the Hubs specified geographic location

Time to Change Champions are individuals who campaign to end mental health discrimination in their communities. We provide Champions with a range of opportunities, resources and training to enable them to do this successfully. The Champions Fund is one such opportunity.

Champions can register online on the Time to Change website (paper versions are available) and individuals will need to have completed this form before they are eligible for funding.

More information on Champions can be found here:

Selection process

Time to Change will provide a standard application form and accompanying guidance which will be shared with Hubs after appointment.

Any additional questions which might be required to address any local priorities can be discussed during the development of the local Hub action plan.

Suggested selection process

We expect that each Hub Coordinator will set up and co-ordinate a Grants Panel that will decide successful applicants.

If necessary we will work with you to help agree the membership of the Panel.

The Panel should include representatives from across the wider Hub partnership, including aTime to Change Champion with experience of mental health problems. Champions who have applied to the Fund themselves should not be part of the Grants Panel which assesses their application.

Time to Change can provide guidance on how to support a Champion as part of the panel.

A standard selection criteria templatefor Panel members will be provided to each Hub area on appointment.

Feedback

The Hub Coordinator will be responsible for providing feedback to unsuccessful applicants and supporting them to take alternative action or apply again at a later date, if appropriate.

Time to Change will give advice on other suitable opportunities for unsuccessful or in-eligible applicants.

Complaints

After appointment a complaints procedure will be agreed across the Hub partners, including any support from Time to Change, with a clear escalation route set out in the event of a serious dispute. Individual Hub co-ordinators should have a clearly defined complaints procedure made available to applicants.

Promoting the Champions Fund

We expect that Hub Coordinators will lead the development of a communications plan for promoting the Fund locally.

Time to Change can help to promote the Fund in your Hub area via our existing network of local Champions and through the work of our Community Equalities Coordinator.We can also provide a range of marketing materials for Hubs to use when promoting the Fund, including posters / flyers and web copy / social media content, etc.

Supporting Champions

Time to Change will provide guidance for Champions on how to apply for the fund, which can be tailored to meet local requirements. We will also be able to provide training to potential applicants, both through our online training modules and face to face sessions with Community Equalities Coordinators. A full list of available support will be provided after appointment.

We would also expect that the Hub Coordinator will provide additional support to potential applicants, including, for example;

Support in completing applications

Information workshops for potential applicants

Further training as required (e.g. event management)

The programme of support for local Champions applying to the fund will be agreed between Time to Change and the Hub Co-ordinator as part of the areas overall activity plan.

Post event

After Champions have completed their event we want to make sure that they continue to be engaged with Time to Change; both utilising their experience of the Fund and guiding them to involvement in other areas that may be of interest.

Time to Change will work with the Hub Co-ordinator to map out what options are available locally, for example:

Further engagement in local campaigning / activity

Opportunities to mentor other applicants

Celebration events

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Hub Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that Funds are distributed and spent correctly. Champions who have received funding should therefore be asked to submit a brief report and financial statement to the Hub Coordinator after they have completed their activity. This should include;

Short summary of activity including successes and challenges

Any agreed report on targets. For example; a count of attendees / number of conversations had

A summary of expenditure against their original budget

Photos from the event if available

The Hub Coordinator is responsible for co-ordinating the receipt of these reports and collating the information received in order to report back to the Hub partnership and Time to Change on the impact of the Fund. The report should include;

A description of activity undertaken by the Hub Coordinator relating to the Champions Fund; development and promotional work, details of panel meetings etc.

An update on the number of applicants and grants awarded, including those from marginalised communities

A financial report including a breakdown of expenditure in that quarter versus forecast / budget.

Time to Change will provide reporting templates and agree a reporting schedule with the Hub Coordinator after appointment.

Evaluation

Time to Change will be evaluating all activity delivered through the Hubs including the Champions Fund. This may include participation in interviews / surveys and close working with the research agency delivering the evaluation.

Marginalised and Disadvantaged Groups

Time to Change is keen to ensure that the Champion’s Fund application process is as accessible as possible and does not create barriers to accessing funding. The application form and guidance has been developed with this in mind.

Locally, the Hub Coordinator and wider Hub Partnership will be responsible for ensuring that the Fund reaches a diverse range of communities. We anticipate that Hub partnerships, led by the Hub Coordinator, will undertake targeted development work with specific, identifiedcommunities to help enable this.

Time to Change will provide guidance on how to ensure accessibility for the Fund, including sharing of best practice and will monitor overall access to the Fund.

Targets for of marginalised and disadvantaged groups will vary depending on the demographic of each local Hub’s area, but as a rough guide we would hope to receive around 20% of Fund applications (both received and successful) fromthese communities.

Appendix A

In the 2015 pilots, the Champions Fund provided awards ranging between £100 and £500 for a variety of creative activities to encourage people to talk about mental health in different and unusual settings.

This involved Champions organising their own event which included talking to members of the publicand sharing a little of their own experience of living with a mental health problem.

Over 50 social contact activities took place across a variety of public spaces including a supermarket, shopping mall, railway station, theatre and a leisure centre.

Other activities where Champions had conversations were also held with people in targeted groups such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, (LGBT) Somali, Czech/Slovak, young Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, several women’s events and activities at local Universities.

One Champion worked with service users at St Mungo’s who gave statements on what they would like to say to counter stigma. The statements were then inserted into fortune cookies to be distributed at various events coinciding with Chinese New Year celebrations to be used as conversation starters. As people broke into their fortune cookie they were asked to read out the quotation which then promoted further conversation about mental health issues.

At a local Tesco supermarket, next door to a mental health hospital, a Champion had conversations with members of the public, many of whom were NHS staff or visitors to the hospital. He wanted to dispel myths about mental health by chatting to people about his own experiences. The area manager was so impressed with the event that he asked the Champion to hold events in other Tesco stores across the city.

“Thank you, for encouraging me to speak out and the opportunity to create and run my own event. It has given me the confidence to run further events and feel more comfortable with friends and in the workplace”.

Case Study 1

The aim of the event was to encourage young people to talk about their mental health, de-stigmatise it and provide information about where to go for help and support.

The event was attended by 38 young people from Inner City Bristol, who support young people to empower themselves through the provision of mental health services, promote positive mental health and resilience and challenge the wider social and structural inequalities that lead to poorer mental health and life chances. The Champion’s event consisted of facilitated mental health workshops sharing experiences about living with a mental health problem. A range of fun activities were devised, trust games, other conversation starters together and an opportunity for people to eat together.

Karen Black, Services Manager for Off the Record (a mental health support and information provider), said that the event ‘was fun and productive’.

Case Study 2

A Champions Fund event delivered in association with the Somali Education Project,included a showing of the Disney film ‘Inside Out”. It attracted 10 Somali mums and two dads, plus another four adults and 35 primary and secondary school age children. Discussions following the film included the following questions:

What makes us happy?

What makes us sad?

What do we do when we are happy?

What do we do when we are sad?

When do we need to talk to someone about our sadness?

Who do we talk to?

Is it ok to be sad?

“….. there was one big conversation which was more culturally appropriate and acceptable with parents and children engaging and laughing together as they talked about mental health.”

Case Study 3

An inviting event taking place in mid-winter was a warm and welcoming event which invited lonely or isolated people to come together to do a series of creative art projects together;

“Saturday's ‘Winter Warmer’ at the Shirehampton Tithe barn was a lovely, intimate and moving event. It was a grass roots event with open access to the whole community.

Participants included elderly women who engaged in art making, conversation and origami, an autistic child who made drawings and a Hungarian national who had recently arrived in the UK.

Many interactions and conversations took place verbally and creatively. We raised awareness of mental health issues by talking of our own experiences and inviting others to share theirs. Many thanks for helping us make this special day happen!”

Annelies and Anna, Champions

Social Contact Event Toolkit

A toolkit designed to help Champions to plan and run activities social contact activities can be accessed at;