Community Connectors

The Community Connectors programme is in partnership with Community Links, Aston Mansfield, MindTHNR and East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT).

We are committed to supporting people in Newham experiencing mental ill health to thrive within their communities.

Community Connectors work with other teams in the NHS to make sure patients have the support they need to and to help them access services.

Community Connectors can help with things like debt, poor housing, finding a job, loneliness, isolation and support if you're a carer.We are commited to actively challenging the stigma associated with mental health and raise awareness of the importance of looking after your mental wellbeing. 

Community Connectors sit within Newham's Community Integrated Mental Health Service (CIMHS), so referrals need to come from a mental health professional. If you require support with your mental health and are not open to a mental health team, please speak to your GP who can assess your needs.

We are dedicated to support service users who have complex mental health and social needs. If you have a social and practical issue but no concerns about your mental health, please speak to your GP's Social Prescribers, or your local Community Neighbourhood Link Worker.

Asma was referred to the Community Connectors as she was feeling lonely.

After talking to her, we found out that she was feeling lonely because of a language barrier as she wasn't confident speaking English.

Asma was keen to go to English classes and we went with her to her local library to help her sign up to a free course.

Once her classes had ended, Asma returned to our service and asked for more activities she could get involved with. We helped her to sign up to more advanced classes at Forest Gate Learning Zone, as well as digital classes at Community Links. We also invited her to the Community Links Community Crafts sessions which she came along to.

Bill was referred to the Community Connectors for support with homelessness. We helped him with a referral to Newham Council's Homelessness Prevention and Advice Service (HPAS) and he was given temporary accommodation.

Bill was re-referred to the Community Connectors for help getting benefits. We referred Bill onto services that could give him benefits advice and, after getting help to apply, he was found to be eligible for more PIP payments (benefits for disabled people) and was given access to the Motability scheme.

Bill also contacted us to ask for help to change his temporary accommodation. We worked together to ask for a review of the suitability of his accommodation, however there was no change in his accommodation.

At this point, Bill felt depressed because his guitar was recently stolen and he used music as a creative outlet. We helped Bill to apply for a Personal Health Budget (PHB) to buy a new guitar and this was approved. Bill was able to purchase a new guitar which was similar to the one that was stolen.

Despite his housing problems not being solved, the PHB gave Bill a way to manage negative feelings as part of mental health recovery. He told us he was grateful he was to the service for supporting him.

Shola was referred to the Community Connectors for activities and volunteering. We gave Shola a list of activities and volunteering organisations, and supported him with creating a timetable.

When we followed up with Shola to see how he was getting on, we found that getting to these activities was difficult for him. We helped Shola apply for a freedom pass so it was easier for him to get to these activities.

Shola also briefly mentioned some housing worries, so he was signposted to the Newham housing hubs, which he hadn't heard of before. We also supported him to make a My Newham account on the Council website so he could report any future concerns.

Wendy was referred to the Community Connector service to explore activities within the community. Wendy shared that she had been going through a tough time and she was feeling quite lonely.

Wendy told us that the pandemic and the fact that she had lost someone close to her recently meant she was struggling with her mental and physical wellbeing.

We worked with Wendy to find out what she would find helpful. She said she would find bereavement counselling useful.

We also discussed how she could add meaningful activities into her day and potential make some new friends in the community. Although this made her nervous, she was open to trying something new.

We explained that as Community Connectors we can be there throughout the process to provide moral support and to give her the confidence she needs to try something new.

During our time with Wendy, there were times when she was in mental health crisis and we contacted their GP to make sure they got the help they needed. We also worked with the crisis team who worked with us to make sure she was able to access the services she needed. 

Wendy was able to take on a volunteering role in the community, join a walking group and go to bereavement counselling with the help of the Community Connectors. She told us: “If you hadn’t come in when you did I don’t know if I would be here now”.

Wendy felt more positive after working with us and felt more able to take on life's challenges with confidence.

For mental health support, please take a look at our Healthy Mind pages.

For support with money, housing and finding a job, take a look at our Healthy Money pages.