Submitted by kasim.bukhari_11773 on
14 March 2024 marks Social Prescribing Day, a time to celebrate Social Prescribing and the thousands of local voluntary groups, activities and services supporting people’s health and wellbeing.
Anne-Marie was referred to our Oldham Social Prescribing team after losing her mum and becoming quite isolated and low in mood. She has learning difficulties and needed support to improve her socialisation and mood.
She met with her Social Prescriber as she needed support with benefits, independent living/housing information, social groups, employment support and education.
Anne-Marie shared a bit about her journey with Oldham Social Prescribing...
"My name’s Anne-Marie Jones, I’m 28 years old and I live in Oldham.
I started having problems with my mental health and it got to the point where I couldn’t cope anymore. So, I went to the GP and got referred over to Oldham Social Prescribing.
Once I got referred, Debra from Oldham Social Prescribing phoned me up and invited me to have a chat. We’ve had lots of regular catch ups since then.
I’d been applying for PIP and with the help of the Social Prescribing, I’ve been able to get it! They’ve also helped me look into more social groups get and out of the house more.
I get a lot of support though Social Prescribing, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to.
Debra has been a great, and such a big help to me.
My hopes for the future are to get myself into a job in retail, or maybe even youth work.
I feel a lot better than I was a few months ago, now I’m getting the right support and help.
For anyone who’s been in a similar position to me, I’d say get in touch with your GP. I’m not sure where I’d be without the help of Oldham Social Prescribing."
Social Prescribing has helped Anne-Marie access local groups and activities and education classes. She also regularly visits Oldham Leisure Centre and she now attends multiple sessions at MENCAP in Drama, Dancercise, Music Therapy. She is also participating in English, Maths, Dyslexia classes at Lifelong Learning.
After accessing a referral from her GP, Anne-Marie is in the process of being fully assessed as this is something that she was never able to do. She is now receiving the appropriate benefits .
Anne-Marie has made lots of progress thanks to her commitment and the services she was able to engage with.
To find out more about our Oldham Social Prescribing service, please click here