Feedback about services

"I live in the South West and don't think we have anything like this here. Your groups have made me feel so welcome and accepted without any judgement and I've gradually started participating more each time I've come as I know it's a safe space and we're all dealing with the same issues. If it weren't for this group I'm not sure what would have happened as I was in a really awful place and had tried to end my life several times. Now I'm making time to come to 1 group a week as it's importnat for my wellbeing regardless of whether I've hurt myself or not. I just wish I'd found your group before my self-harm escalated to the point it did"

You said	We did
Sometimes there are long gaps in the discussion (virtual groups)	The facilitators are now clearer about when a pause is no longer comfortable and know how to avoid long gaps
Topics have at times been too similar (virtual groups)	All facilitators are asked to regularly check the central list of topics and avoid doing "samey" topics too close to each other
Needing both "lighter" and "heavier" topics (virtual groups)	Each facilitator team tries to use a balance of both "lighter" and "heavier" topics
More evening availability & later (virtual groups)	The majority of the virtual groups run in the evening including the social. We found that it's harder for the facilitators to start groups later than 6.30. The social often doesn't finish until 8 and the parents/family group's time is 6:30-8. Staff are on stand-by as well and running groups past 8 is impractical.
Introductions need to be optional (F2F groups)	Introductions have always been optional. Facilitators have been reminded to make that clear at each group
A F2F group at the other side of Leeds (not Beeston or central)	We are hoping to restart our F2F group in Armley in the near future
Negative talk at the groups goes unchallenged (virtual groups)	All facilitators have now received extra training about dealing with such negative talk
Too many emails about virtual groups	We changed our booking system enabling people on the invite list to book in advance on groups over the forthcoming fortnight. Other systems were considered but were not practical
Rotate/alternate evenings the group runs on (parents/family virtual group)	Unfortunately that would be very impractical for the facilitators but we are considering a 2nd parents/family group in the future on a different evening [2nd group added].
Have a topic but allow the conversation to flow (virtual groups)	Facilitators have now received extra training to increase their confidence and allow this to happen
What I would find helpful is being able to talk about the fact that I am going to kill myself right now (virtual groups)	As we clearly state, we are not a crisis service and attending a peer support group may not be appropriate when feeling like this. We have increased the facilitator teams to 3 and extended their training to deal with incidents in the groups
I prefer the more structured groups instead of the What-bothers-me groups (virtual groups)	We make it clear in the invite which is a WBM group and which ones have topics so people can make an informed choice. Sometimes we have to change this last minute unfortunately but we try hard to avoid that
Sometimes it can be overwhelming when someone in a group has a lot to say	Facilitators have now received extra training to manage this more effectively
Some facilitators talk a lot about themselves which can stop people getting chance to speak	Facilitators have been asked to always give priority to the service users & reminded in recent top-up training
I'm anxious to attend F2F groups because I don't know what to expect	A booklet has been available on the website since before the pandemic that explains how the groups are run and what to expect
I'm worried as I can't seem to find any information on the website about whether the building is accessible for mobility issues (F2F groups)	We currently use fully accessible venues and have photographs on the website from the entrance all the way to the room we use. If unsure, please contact us. We will always aim to use fully accessible venues and make it clear on the website.
I'm anxious about whether there is a risk of transphobia towards myself if I did attend (F2F groups)	We welcome everybody. If worried, please contact us.
A meet-and-greet would make it easier for me to attend face-to-face groups	Meet-and-greet system at all face-to-face groups.
Unfortunately I cannot attend when it is held [family/friends group]. Wonder whether consideration could be given to changing/alternating?	Second family/friends group added on a different day. There is a group each week now.

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