let's make things better
Friday, 23 February 2018
Some Videos on Mental Health
I have a rule that I only add something to a playlist if it's genuinely brilliant. Either by being informative, or moving, or helps me see something in a new perspective.
So anything on these lists is something that has had an actual impact on my life, and I think they could be really valuable to other people.
So with that in mind, here's my mental health playlist. If you would like to know more about mental health in general, or aspects of your own mental health, or if you're not doing well and need a new perspective, this is a good place to start.
Monday, 8 June 2015
Allies for vulnerable people in public places
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
If you'd rather talk to someone anonymously, these details might be of use
http://waveringoptimist.blogspot.co.uk/p/useful-contacts.html
Saturday, 8 December 2012
When did we start accepting children being homeless?
http://www.shelter.org.uk/
75,000 children in the UK will wake up on christmas day homeless.
let me run that by you again
75,000 children in the UK will wake up on christmas day homeless.
When did this become something that we accept? What are we going to do about it? There is enough money, sufficient resource and housing for this not to be the case, it's just not spread out correctly. Our society is fundamentally broken.
Here's a link to contact your local MP
http://www.parliament.uk/about/contacting/mp/
Here's a link to donate to Shelter
http://www.shelter.org.uk/donate?cam_id=4&src=christmas_landing&appeal=&consid=
I don't even know what to say to your MP. I think it's down to each of us to decide that. But we need to say *something*. don't we?
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Help keep people warm
So how about we make sure, to the best of our abilities, that what they can carry includes a hat, a scarf, and some gloves? Have you got a spare set? Can you knit? Did you just get a payrise?
My suggestion would be to get one of each (well, two for the gloves) and put them in a bag. Maybe put some other stuff in there - money, food, maybe a short note explaining why you've done it, and then carry it with you wherever you go.
When you next see someone who's sleeping rough, and you will, give them the bag. Then tell people what you've done. Encourage them to do the same. Feel good.
Let's make things better
Thursday, 21 June 2012
do what you can, when you can
this next one is a different type of gesture altogether, but one whose ethos i can't help but love:
so what do you think? do you run, or work in a business that could do something like this? would you be prepared to ask local businesses to do the same? would you be prepared to just ask your neighbours round? don't do anything you're not comfortable with, but have a think about ways you can do something similar that which is relevant to you. let's make things better.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Wavering Optimist Now Offering Free Tech Support to Charities
Example setup:
Multi-page site with embedded twitter feed and link to facebook page; contact us page, donate button etc (essentially whatever you need to have)
Facebook page (which will update automatically from the blog so you don't need to update it)
Twitter account (which will update automatically from the blog so you don't need to update it)
additional extras:
youtube account, tumblr or wordpress blog, flickr/picasa account for photos, any social networks
In addition, we will also come and visit you to do tech training either for your staff, volunteers or clients. If you are local to us, we will do the course for free. If you are able to pay travel expenses we are also willing to travel. This can either be training on the services we have set up for you, so you can update them yourself, or general IT training, or a mixture of both.
This is entirely a voluntary service so service levels cannot be guaranteed, but we will not take on a project we are unable to complete.
contact us here
*UPDATE* 15th May:
First site has now gone live. Check out Rochdale Citizen Advocacy
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Do It!
http://do-it.org.uk
Search by postcode and find loads of volunteering opportunities in your area.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
UK and Eire – calls to the samaritans now free from mobiles
116 123 will be used for an emotional support helpline, provided by Samaritans
116 111 will be used for a child helpline, provided by NSPCC (which runs ChildLine)
116 000 will be used for a missing people helpline, provided by Missing People
outside the british isles, a similar service is available through befrienders. if you want to add details of any other similar services, please feel free to add them in the comments (comments are moderated and so won’t appear immediately, but are checked daily)
Sunday, 23 October 2011
why bother?
ok, so you might have read the mission statement and thought, that sounds like a nice idea, but a whole lot of effort. why would i bother?
so that’s the big question isn’t it? why bother? why bother trying to make things better? what difference can you make? won’t you just end up frustrated anyway?
i’m not gonna lie to you, you might. not every time, but sometimes. sometimes you’ll help someone and they’ll be so wantonly self-assured that they won’t even notice you’ve helped them, let alone acknowledge it. and sometimes you will accept help but will end up feeling beholden to your benefactor and wishing you’d muddled through alone.
but in my experience, if you get into the habit of doing this all the time, and don’t let yourself stop because of one cretin taking advantage, these cretins are the exception, not the rule, and most people, when you do nice things are genuinely surprised and grateful, and more likely to ask for help next time.
but then, it’s not just about the buzz you get from actually being able to help someone either. of course, that’s a nice feeling, and it’s part of what motivates us to do nice things – who doesn’t want to feel like a Good Person once in a while? but this is about more than that.
this is about doing it consistently, consciously, and tenaciously, so that people around you can see what it is just to be nice for the sake of making things nice, and maybe some of them will catch on. maybe someone will notice that you always do the right thing, and it’s seldom that anyone has an ill word to say about you, and maybe they’ll make the connection, who knows?
one thing i do know is that you’re unlikely to make the world worse by being nice, so it’s worth a shot, right?
if you’re still not convinced, that’s fine – drop me a mail and let me know your reservations