The Community Support Service works with the Community Mental Health Team, Assertive Community Teams and Home Treatment Teams in supporting clients in their own home, reducing the need to return to hospital or placement in supportive accommodation.

The CSS supports clients with their daily living skills, such as going shopping, cooking or housekeeping, budgeting and social activities. We also monitor clients taking medication and report back on their mental well-being.

It is a seven day a week service and is tailored to the needs of the client, fitting in with their lives and daily routines. We do not do things for clients, we do things with them.

Service User Involvement Project

We believe that service users have a unique contribution to make both to the development of quality mental health services and to wider aspects of community living which influence mental health. This three-year strategy will be developed in Tower Hamlets for the involvement of service users in influencing how mental heath services are provided and in the future development of mental health services.

The project will ensure User Involvement is co-ordinated and supported throughout Tower Hamlets. The aim is to work with people to be able to provide information on choices and opportunity in regards to their rights and access to services, as well as enabling service users to become involved in the planning and development of local services.

This will be achieved by working with voluntary sector representatives; the statutory sector and training for service users to be able contribute to, and be involved, in decision making and service improvements. The concept of recovery will be at the heart of the culture of the service.

Some of the ways the project is achieving this is through recruitment, training and supporting service users to be involved at all levels of service development. The project supports the developmental needs of the existing user led groups and encourages new user led groups. The project has created a central resource for informing people of the opportunities for involvement, training and support.

The staff

The service is managed by a Community Support Service Manager and a senior ST&R Worker, who lead a team of ST&R Workers.

• Click to download the Community Support Services User's Guide