The Midlands and Lincolnshire

The Midlands and Lincolnshire

We're always looking to work in new areas.

Take a look through our existing services or contact our National Office on 020 3119 0960 or at enquiries@keyring.org

Sandwell Networks

Warwickshire Community Links

Meet the Warwickshire team

Warwickshire Short Term Support

Grimsby Networks

Sandwell Networks

Manager: Lucy Downing - 0753 435 0167 - lucy.downing@keyring.org

In Sandwell we support people who are homeless or at the risk of becoming homeless. We have been working in the area since 2015.

We have 4 networks in Sandwell for 40 Members.

West Bromwich (Network of 10)
Rowley Regis (Network of 10)
Oldbury (Network of 10)
Oxford Road, West Bromwich (Network of 10)

KeyRing in Sandwell can help if you:

Are at risk of becoming homeless, have you been served an eviction notice and don’t know what to do?
Are homeless. We can meet you in the community, sessions don’t have to be at home only.
Struggle with reading your letters and bills.
Need support to develop your independence/ life skills

To get KeyRing support in Sandwell you must:

Live in Sandwell
Be over 18 years’ old
Need support to build independence

What makes us different?

KeyRing in Sandwell is unique to other services, alongside the more traditional support services we offer community support. Community support includes our community hub session and building network’s of connection across the Sandwell area.

We believe that every person has something to offer and we can link you in with other people within our service for you to offer/receive support.

If you would like to be part of KeyRing, you are more than welcome to attend our community hub sessions. Any member of the community is welcomed to attend these sessions.

Wednesdays 10am-12pm - Wood Lane Community Centre, 157 Wood Lane, West Bromwich, B70 9PT.

If you would like support or to meet new people and make some new friends, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Lucy: 0753 435 0167

Warwickshire Community Links

Manager: Matthew Wilson - 07825 275 405 - matthew.wilson@keyring.org

Our Community Links service offers short term mental health support.

We can support people for up to six sessions with:

Advice
Guidance
Signposting
Making connections with people and communities
Focussed emotional support

Personalised support during specific periods of life that could cause deterioration of mental health.

Support is provided through a combination of 1:1 support, group work and peer support. We link in with carers, health and social care professionals and other organisations delivering support.

To be eligible for this service a person must:

Have a mental health need (inclusive of undiagnosed needs)
Be aged 17 or older
Live in Warwickshire, or be registered with a GP in Warwickshire
Not be entitled to social care services

For more information about the service please contact Matthew Wilson at matthew.wilson@keyring.org or on 07825 275 405.

Download a referral form

Man pointing at open sign

Two hands

Meet the Warwickshire team

Cherry Bourton-Smith

Nuneaton and Bedworth

"Hi, my name's Cherry, I've worked for charities for the last 14 years and have worked with KeyRing since April 2020.

I live with my dog Henry and enjoy walks with him. I love chocolate and cakes. In my spare time, I love watching old movies and listening to music.

I very much enjoy working for KeyRing because I get a great sense of satisfaction from working in my local community and meeting people."

Melanie Fletcher

South Warwickshire

"My name is Melanie Fletcher, and I am the Community Support Worker for South Warwickshire.

My interests include walking, live music and listening to music and I go to the theatre twice a year."

Michelle Lewis

Rugby

"Hi I'm Michelle.

Working for KeyRing has supported me to transform my life. I have been given the chance to use my lived experience to support and empower others."

Soraya Hemming

North Warwickshire

"I'm Soraya and I've been working for KeyRing for 2 years.

I enjoy the opportunity to meet new people in my role. Outside of work I love travel and have visited more than 40 countries."

Warwickshire Short Term Support

Manager: Matthew Wilson - 07825 275 405 - matthew.wilson@keyring.org

KeyRing offers a 12 week support service for adults across Warwickshire.

You can get help with all sorts of different things from our friendly local team. Most of the people who use this service have been referred to us by the local social work team. Don’t let that worry you though. If you think this is the right kind of support for you then get in contact with us. If we can’t help we will point you in the direction of someone who can.

What is short term support?

Short term support is designed to help you with a specific issue. We work with you to prevent, reduce or delay the need for longer term support. We can provide up to 12 sessions. You may not need that and that’s ok. If you think you will need more support we can talk with you about how you could access that.

Who is it for?

In simple terms this service could be for you if you are 18 or over and:

things are a bit chaotic at the moment
you are doing risky things that make people worry for your safety
you are facing something challenging such as the loss of someone close to you, or eviction
you are involved with the criminal justice system
you’ve stopped connecting with your usual support services
you are going through something else that our partners at Warwickshire think we can help you with.

How will you support me?

Firstly, you will chat with us about what you want to achieve during the time you are supported. This is your support so it’s important that you control how it is delivered. We will explain the options and figure this out together.

There is usually a combination of information, advice, support to access other services and direct support with specific tasks. We can support with things like:

knowing your rights and acting on them
being healthy and well
improving your quality of life
being independent and improving your daily living skills
doing things in your local community
keeping safe
sorting your finances

Contact

When we hear from the social work team, we will try and contact you within five working days and keep trying to get hold of you for four weeks. If you miss us, that’s ok. You can call or text us at any time up to 6 months after our first call.

Matt’s contact details are: matthew.wilson@keyring.org - 07825 275 405

A woman on the phone

Grimsby Networks

Manager: Anne Palmer - 07717 894476 - anne.palmer@keyring.org

Do you live in Grimsby and need support to live a more fulfilling life? That's what we are here for.

You will get support to live the life you want and build your independence. This type of support looks different for everyone and we will figure out together

Some of the things we could help you with:

Understanding and sorting out the pile of mail you've buried in you bottom drawer.
Working out how you can look after your money better.
Connecting you with people and hopefully making friends.
Learning about things that you can do in your local area.
Taking care of yourself.
Loving your home. This could mean help to build skills to move into your very first home, help with moving or getting the best out of where you live now.

We will never tell you what to do with your life but we will give you the skills to get there in your own way and style. Of course, we will be there if you need us. The KeyRing team will help you design a plan for your support and will agree with you when they will see you and what you will do together.

They will also help you get involved in our local activities and groups if you fancy them. We work with the council to deliver this service and they have a great understanding that anyone can need support at any time in their lives. So if this kind of support is right up your street then give me (Anne) a call for a chat on 07717 894476 or drop me an email at anne.palmer@keyring.org.

Two men sat on a sofa with a dog

Woman with hands in the air

Josh

Josh was living in a residential service and wanted to live independently.

Smiling man in pink top

Josh is 26 years old and has been with KeyRing for six weeks. Josh was living in a residential service for people with a learning disability. This was not a suitable place for Josh who wanted to live independently.

Josh found himself a flat, but the landlord was a little concerned and wanted Josh to have a guarantor.

Josh’s social worker made a referral to KeyRing. We contacted the landlord and discussed how we would support Josh to be a suitable tenant and Josh was able to move in.

Josh has an appointee but feels he is capable of managing his own money. We are working with him to achieve this.

Josh “previously called me several times a day, this has almost reduced to no calls, which I see as a real positive in his transition to independent living."

Susan Kidd - Social Worker, Whitby

Paul

Paul is living on his own for the first time.

Smiling man in blue tank top

Paul is just on his way to pick up the keys to his new place. Paul is 28 and it’s the first time he’s lived on his own. He is “really excited to be living independently”.

He joined KeyRing 4 months ago and we’ve been supporting him to prepare for a move away from the family home and to find a property that he loves. During those four months we’ve also supported Paul and his Dad through the unexpected loss of Paul’s mum.

Paul’s dad gave up work for a period of time because Paul had never been on his own during the day before. Now Paul’s dad has felt able to resume work.

We’ve connected Paul with the local community as well. He only moved to the area 5 months ago and he is already well on his way to filling every day. He is especially keen to get a job in one of the local charity shops just as soon as they reopen.

Paul has also made friends with other Members. Paul’s dog Alfie has been the perfect ice breaker and one of the other Members is learning about looking after a pet from Paul.

Paul is so keen to build his independence that he has already memorised the bus routes he needs to take after being shown just once.

We are sure that Paul will bring lots of experience and passion to the local network and we can hardly wait to get him involved.

Imogen*

Woman in a yellow top

When Imogen came to KeyRing she was homeless and recently bereaved. Her self-esteem was low, she was feeling very isolated and had a lot of debt.

We supported her with exercises to encourage healthy self-esteem. Imogen worked on thinking more positively and dealing with anger. She arranged payment plans with debtors and thought of ways to prevent future debt. Imogen now opens her bills and letters and knows who she can speak with if there is something that she does not understand.

She identified groups that she wanted to be part of and KeyRing supported her to attend. Working alongside the local housing provider, Imogen has found a flat that she loves.

The Midlands and Lincolnshire