ACE provides a number of services supporting our local community in mental health, training, debt advice, access to food, and supporting families, based at the Dusty Forge and at other community locations.
We are supporting Mental Health Week and Dying Matters Awareness Week by running a series of events and also promoting other opportunities to get the help you feel you may need around these two issues.
Further information on Dying Matters Awareness Week can be found here: https://www.dyingmatters.org/AwarenessWeek
Events
At a Death Café people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. A Death Café is a group discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes – the topics are brought by any group members who have something to share or ask. At the beginning of our Death Café, you will be asked to share: your name & why you decided to attend. Everyone’s thoughts and beliefs are welcome.
PLEASE NOTE: It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. If you are looking for grief support, please contact Kimberley who can signpost you onto more appropriate services.
Grief Space is usually a virtual, online community but as restrictions ease, we are taking it to the beautiful setting of the Dusty Forge Garden. The idea is to provide a space for community members to come together and share a safe and compassionate space. It is a space where we can voice our grief, loss and bereavement and listen to others non-judgmentally and with compassion. You will be under cover outside and we will provide tea and coffee, but you may wish to bring a blanket!
Participants affected by loss are invited to join in with creative activities, learn new skills and begin creating an art piece focusing on the subject of bereavement.
Please join us on Friday 14th for a walk through nature. Take some time to unwind and talk to us. Meet at the Caer Heritage Centre, Church Rd.
Our Services
Guided Self-Help and Social Prescribing
Working with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, ACE provide the Guided Self-Help and Social Prescribing (previously Tier 0) and the Access to Well Being services.
Guided Self-Help and Social Prescribing service is a 1:1 guided self-help for anyone referred by their GP and self-referral and open-access courses providing self-help information for managing anxiety and depression.
People can participate in a range of courses and guided support including:
- ‘Stress Control’ and ‘ACTion for Living’ are aimed at empowering participants to better manage their wellbeing.
- 1:1 guided support for Anxiety, etc
Over the last year the service engaged with 1449 individuals. 1000 people have benefited from the 1-1 guided self-help sessions, and 449 accessed the psychoeducational courses. Participants say positive outcomes were improvements in: managing their mental health, physical health & self care, social networks, identity & self esteem, and trust & hope for the future.
Yourspace
Yourspace is a wellbeing service open to anyone registered with a GP in South West Cardiff (Ely, Caerau, Canton and Riverside). Our Wellbeing Connectors can work with you to help you decide on things you would like to do to improve your wellbeing and help you to access local groups and services, meet other people and join in with local volunteering projects (focussed around Canton, Riverside, Ely and Caerau).
We also have a community development service which works with local people to develop new ways to help you stay well, by talking about what’s missing and working with the community to develop new services and activities. The service is currently developing regular walking groups, a cycling club and a regular coffee morning in the Dusty Forge garden.
To self-refer or to find out more, call the Dusty Forge on 02920 003132 and ask for the Yourspace team.
Yourspace is part of the South West Cardiff Primary Care Cluster’s Transformation Project, which involves health, wellbeing and support services in South West Cardiff working together in new ways to improve health and wellbeing.
ACE Grief Space
Partnering with Macmillan Cancer Care, ACE have been exploring community development approaches to increase the availability of compassionate support for those entering their end of life journey, in particular those who do not yet require intensive at home or hospice palliative care.
The idea behind Grief Space is to provide a space for community members to come together and share a safe and compassionate space. It is a space where we can voice our grief, loss and bereavement and listen to others non-judgmentally and with compassion. Grief Space have run a range of workshops and Zoom meetings helping people to share their experiences or for people just by listening to what others have to say.
During Dying Matters Awareness Week (10 – 16 May), people are also invited to join:
Death Café – Zoom
Mon 10th May, 6pm – 7:30pm
Grief Space – Dusty Forge Garden
Wed 12th May, 6pm – 7:30pm
Creative Grief Space – Dusty Forge Main Hall
Fri 14th May, 10am – 12pm
Get in touch.
For any further information, please call tel: 02920 003132.
