COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR PLANETARY HEALING
Holistic Centre for health, wellbeing and inclusion for all.
Office: 0131 449 4467
Reg. Scottish Charity SC 034826 Reg.Company SC 257126
ANNUAL REPORT 2010 |
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We live in such incredible times of change and progress. Never in our history have we been able to access such a wealth of information from our keyboards, or communicate with ‘strangers’ through social networking sites within seconds. However as our technical skills expand, we seem to face the same old problems we always have: sickness, war and poverty. Problems which, even with our instant contemporary magic we cannot heal overnight. The great Medicine Man Marcellus Bear Heart once said; ‘your problems are my problems and my problems are your problems.’ I like to think that we at the Foundation for Planetary Healing see things in a similar way. This last year has been a fine example of Bear Heart’s words within our charity. A real approach based on the Foundation’s grassroots understanding of how communities prosper and share to overcome problems and progressing to solve problems together. The soaring success of the Holistic Health Project is seen through the positive feedback from our users and an increase in the number of dedicated volunteers and expanding variety of therapies on offer, fully expressing the spirit of togetherness. One statistic which underlines our impact is the response of women (75%) who access our project. It speaks volumes about our society. April this year we formally welcomed Neill Walker as a new member on our Board of Trustees. With his community expertise and experience he is making an immense contribution to the Foundation. We wish to express our thanks to Justin Kelly for the publication of our CD ‘Sacred Body: Sacred Breath’ to raise funds for our charity this year. Justin devoted a great deal of his time, expense and effort to make it happen. Finally, a big hearted thanks for the team in Portobello. You really make the Foundation what it is: Heaven on Earth; A place of healing, well-being, gathering, love and laughter. Sincere thank you to Claudia, whose gifts of strength, love and wisdom are an inspiration to us all. A special thank you to Denise for taking over the coordination of the project in April from Claudia and for her impeccable work. I wish everyone past, present and future involved with the Foundation a blessed year ahead and continual sharing of our gifts with the community. Thank you.
The history the Community Foundation is one of passionate individuals working from a base of uncondi
tional love. Everyone involved with our project is committed to help improve the lives of people who are It has been over seven years since we first opened the Centre in Portobello. Our passion has not and will never fade: We are even more committed to the important work we do and I am extremely impressed by the talent and dedication of all our volunteers. We have taken some big and important steps forward in terms of development to meet the challenge of helping more people this year. We are meeting our responsibilities as a growing organisation and community. The Foundation has taken the lead in the launch of an entirely innovative service model of Holistic Therapy Services in Scotland: our Holistic Community Health Project. Awareness of the benefits of Complementary Therapies is increasing amongst the medical profession with many doctors not only sympathetic but encouraging its use and that is wonderful to see! We hope our work will inspire many people out there to create similar services in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland; we will be delighted to share the secrets of our success with you. I look forward to the year ahead with great joy in my heart and much gratitude to our team of volunteers. It is only because of them that the Foundation is possible. TRUSTEES REPORT: Making a positive impactOur work is based on the fundamental belief that everyone should have equal rights to holistic therapies and holistic education for their personal development, health and well-being. Meaningful relationships nurtured in community, upholding unconditional love at heart, can be a means towards re-shaping the world we live in. We value people and our planet and take both into account in everything we do. We are dedicated to making a positive impact in the world we live. With our work we help individuals achieve inner harmony and become more aware, as a result, live in balance and harmony with planet and people. Our main area of charitable activity is the delivery of our unique Holistic Community Health Project which offers a wide range of Therapies for those who find themselves in an economically disadvantaged position. Therapies are provided by professional qualified therapists who give their time and expertise on a voluntary basis in the project. Therapies offered in our Holistic Community Health Project include: holistic massage, E.F.T. (emotional freedom technique), energy work, seated acupressure massage, hot stone massage, Reiki, soul retrieval therapy, Indian head massage, befriending work, crystal healing, bio-energy, massage, holistic healing, shamanic healing, homoeopathy, yoga and relaxation mongst others. We also offer weekly classes, groups and workshops organised and facilitated by the members of the community themselves as Community Initiative. Our aim remains to offer a safe and holistic complementary therapy treatment service for all. A service that is easily accessible to anyone concerned about any aspect of their health, be it physical, emotional or any other aspects of well-being. Who Used and Benefited from our Services in 2009/10
We find that early intervention and treatment to help a person overcome and/or resolve a health condition or emotional problem has a positive public benefit, both for the individual and their family. Resolving emotional problems has helped users avoid or recover from longer-term or more serious mental health problems. Our project has helped people particularly with long term effects of depression, trauma and/or sexual abuse. Our therapy is person centred and consultations take place between the person and each of the individual practitioners they choose. As they can access different therapies they also have the opportunity to be listened and treated by different therapists of their choice. One hour, sometimes one and half hours of individual attention are given to the client in each session. In their session, this allows them the opportunity to express their thoughts, feelings, anxieties and concerns about whatever is troubling them. No feedback or advice is given, just a listening ear and a safe place. We feel this is an integral part of our therapies and a major contributory factor to the project’s successful outcomes.
The Foundation is a sanctuary of peace, calm and
unconditional love. Our services are open to all In 2008/2009 the foundation was supported by 22 volunteers. In 2009/2010 the number of volunteers increased to 30. In 2008/2009 volunteer therapists delivered 123 therapies in the Project. In 2009/2010 they delivered 229. Both increase in the number of therapies delivered and increase on the number of volunteers delivering the services shows a steady growth and shows that we are delivering a service truly needed by our community. VolunteersThe main supporters of the Foundation are our team of thirty volunteers who give their time freely, working with the people who use our services. People work together to find a meaningful resolution for health and well-being issues. All volunteers working in our project who are directly involved in delivering one to one services to vulnerable people are disclosed, fully qualified, insured and governed by our code of conduct. Outside the project they run their own private practice and are successful professionals.
In October 2009 we received the Investing in Volunteers Benefits that volunteers gain from volunteering with us include a sense of worthwhile achievement, useful skills, experience and contacts, sociability and fun, and inclusion in the life of our organisation We have policies and good practice in place to give our volunteers a safe, worthwhile and fulfilling experience. Our volunteers are the key to our success and to the positive outcomes of our services. The Board of Trustees are immensely grateful to all volunteers for their hard work, dedication and commitmentOUR HOLISTIC COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT
With our work we support people affected by mental health, cancer, survivals of sexual abuse, depression, homelessness and people with other equally difficult challenges in their lives. What Impact Are We Making?Our survey this year had the goal to: We identified a number of possible indicators of users’ wellbeing: Improvements in energy, mood or stress levels; improving management, or reducing symptoms of long term conditions; reducing prescribed medication; feeling able to make positive changes in their lives. Who can refer?Clients can self-refer and we also receive referrals from General Practitioners, Nurse Specialists, Social Services Department and other professional organizations. After referral, a preliminary assessment acts to confirm that the service offered fits with client expectations and priority needs. A further individual needs assessment is conducted after the client has been using the project for longer than eight sessions to prioritize support tasks. E.g. it might be appropriate for the client to move on to classes and groups at the Foundation such as yoga or meditation. What Contribution users give to the Project?Users give a contribution depending on what they can afford: between £5 and £20. Normal costs of private therapies would usually be in the range of £25 to £100. Because we receive no long term grants yet, their contribution helps to cover some of the core costs. Over the many years of delivering our services, we have seen that people’s personal efforts heavily influence and bear weight on finding sustainable solutions to their problems related to health and emotional well-being. That is why it is important that there is some form of contribution for the services offered, even if it is a very small charge according to their means. This is vital in the process of building self-confidence, self-esteem and increase people’s control over their own health and well-being.
When asked “When you first came, what did you feel the project could help you with?” What the respondent said:Support in a crisis, emotional issues, stress and mental health: Long term health conditions: (56% of respondents) It is common for both physical and mental health issues to bring people to the project, and both equally important. Some users suffered from skin conditions, some from arthritis, others from a fatigue related condition, and reducing or helping to manage symptoms was an aim. Complementary therapies allow them to address all levels of their health and to relieve the strain of living with adverse health conditions. It is favourable that people in need of support are able to access a rich variety of experiences at the Foundation. The benefit of treatment can be an increased interest in self development, or motivation to take courses and trainings to move forward.
What did users get out of the project in 2009-2010?‘It was an oasis of healing and compassion. You have to have money in Edinburgh [usually].’ ‘I started to make real changes around the time the therapy ended. I moved away. I felt like I had built confidence...been given support... it gives a safe place to go and let go of your feelings. ‘ ‘The treatments were great.’ ‘All holistic work has an impact.’ It's going to enable you to continue with a sense of self acceptance, acceptance] of your health whatever your health is. Not everything is going to be helped or improved. Reassurance, yes, this is alright.’ A different sense, what you’ve been doing too much of, prioritising, how you use your time if your energy doesn’t allow you a full day.’ ‘It was very, very powerful. It did what it said on the tin!’
‘You felt at home as soon as you came in the door.’ ‘I’d recommend it to anybody who was troubled in any way.’ ‘The rash came up but [differently], it transmuted to something else.’ ‘I still see the homoeopath. We are working on the emotional side.’ ‘My head not buzzing any more, more clear headed and supported’
Can you rate how satisfied you are with the project, where 0 is not at all, and 9 is the highest/ extremely satisfied? Despite having several suggestions for improvement in the system one respondent had chosen to give the project the highest score on the scale, “for the actual therapists.” The volunteer therapists “were very devoted”, she said, more than she had found to be the case in “paid-for therapies.”
Were there any surprises? ConclusionUsers get better at their own pace, not according to a How we might improve: what people said:
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