Creative Minds is a charity hosted by
South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
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TwoCan

TwoCan South West Yorkshire Logo

Creative Minds has developed our social Buddy scheme, called TwoCan.

It supports those across South West Yorkshire who may be struggling with their mental health. TwoCan has been created to aid with certain issues that might have been made worse by the pandemic, causing so many more people to be affected by social isolation, low mood, and increasingly poor mental health.

 

What is TwoCan?

The project pairs together Volunteers and those most at risk, based on shared hobbies, activities and interests. We want to make local people feel more connected, reach out to individuals who have been hit hardest, and provide welcome relief from social isolation.

 

What does it mean to be a TwoCan Buddy?

By choosing to become a TwoCan volunteer, you’ll be helping local people in a safe way by sharing what is important and inspiring to you. You’ll create opportunities to discover new friends, help those new friends to gain confidence, support anxieties, and share excitement about exploring new ideas together.

Interacting with your Buddy might be as simple as starting with a phone call, or a few texts each week, or a socially distanced walk while restrictions are in place. Our hope is that this leads to buddies being able to take part in face-to-face activities together when restrictions allow. Our aim is to get people talking, making connections, swapping ideas and trying new things together.

Volunteers will also be offered the opportunity to take part in free, mental health first aid training through one of our partner organisations. This is to ensure that our Buddies can offer the necessary support, and feel confident in their ability to support those who need it most.

 

Is it a big commitment to become a Buddy?

We hope that as a volunteer, you’ll be able to offer one hour of your time each week to support others, but that is our recommendation. Volunteers can choose to give more time, or split their availability between other individuals if they wish.

All of this, including the Universal Story, has been set up so that when restrictions ease, we can take part in face-to-face social activities again, knowing that there will be friendly faces there that we know and recognise. We want people across South West Yorkshire to feel more comfortable about re-connecting and rediscovering life outside of social restrictions.

 

If you’re interested in becoming a Buddy, use the contact details below and get in touch with a member of staff to register.

Get in touch with project organisers

This project is run by Creative Minds

Online: southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk/creative-minds

Twitter: twitter.com/Creat1ve_M1nds

Facebook: facebook.com/Creative.Minds.SWYT

Email: ben.cross@swyt.nhs.uk

Telephone: 01924 316285

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Creative Minds is a registered charity in England and Wales number: 1055931-13. Registered office: Fieldhead Hospital, Ouchthorpe Lane, Wakefield, WF1 3SP