Objectives

Therapeutic gardening and rural crafts for people who experience mental health difficulties

Strategic plan for 2008 - 2010

Our objects are

To offer a range of horticultural and other land and craft based activities in a therapeutic setting to people experiencing emotional and mental health difficulties.

To offer support and encouragement to people, and to contribute to them regaining and sustaining their confidence and self esteem by taking part in a variety of interesting learning activities, working as part of a team, and sharing new experiences.

To promote healthy eating, physical activities, social inclusion, and to provide a service that is employment related as a means of promoting positive mental health.

To assist people to achieve goals agreed with them individually, these goals reflecting what is realistically achievable for each person at that stage in their life, thereby enabling them to discover and fulfil their true potential.

Our values are

Creating a friendly, calm, welcoming, and inclusive atmosphere.

Encouraging clients to regain their confidence and self-esteem and so develop their full potential.

Empowering clients to make their own choices and express their opinions about their requirements and how these are met by R & B.

Offering a range of activities to suit different client needs with the emphasis on a holistic approach.

Providing good communication amongst and between clients, staff, volunteers, carers, trustees and the wider community.

Ensuring commitment from staff, volunteers and trustees.

Our major objectives for the three years: 2008 - 2010

1. Build on our strengths and past achievements with an emphasis on consolidation rather than major change.
2. Develop a more diverse funding base to maintain our independence.
3. Review and further develop our methods for monitoring and evaluating outcomes.
4. Review and develop the educational side of all our activities.
5. Build on the inter-relationship between our activities.
6. Review and develop the ways we help clients move on.
7. Extend the ways that we encourage social inclusion.
8. Review and improve the ways that we communicate our activities to the local community and more widely.
9. Consider options for making our resources available to other training, educational and local groups.
10. Ensure that we have the right training programmes for staff, volunteers and trustees.
11. Review the benefits of becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and take steps to become a CIO if this is deemed appropriate.

Activities

We will develop our current activities as follows

1. Gardening. Link to healthy eating, develop quiet space and consider links to horticultural colleges.
2. Arts and Crafts. Organise a structured programme.
3. Healthy Living. Consolidate various activities in this area, and introduce other activities like country walks and helping people to stop smoking.
4. Woodwork. Seek sponsorship for a major project to build a traditional west-country sailing boat.
5. Forge. Major renovation of the facilities is under consideration.
6. Bee-keeping. Implement the plans to relocate the hives.
7. Administration and computer skills. Ensure that this is integrated into the rest of our activities.

Work on the plan started at a meeting in November 2007.  Find out more here.

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