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Round up of voluntary sector reaction to the EU referendum result

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SurveyThe charity chief executives body Acevo has called for a summit to discuss the estimated £200m a year of European Union funding the sector will lose, and the chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations has urged charities to play a key role in rebuilding trust in society after the UK voted to leave the EU.

Other reactions from the voluntary sector to the result of yesterday’s referendum, in which 52 per cent of voters chose to leave the EU, included a warning from Paul Palmer, professor of voluntary sector management at Cass Business School, that there would be a “double whammy” of a fall in donations and further government austerity measures.

Martin Sime, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, said the decision was a “seismic shock to our politics and economy that will have a profound effect”.

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How to decolonise mental health services

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David 'Rocky' Bennett

David ‘Rocky’ Bennett

Before David ‘Rocky’ Bennett’s death in a psychiatric unit 18 years ago, he sent a letter to the nurse director, pointing out there were no black staff members. He wrote:

“There are over half a dozen black boys in this clinic. I don’t know if you have realised that there are no Africans on your staff at the moment”.

Bennett died while being held down by four staff members at a psychiatric unit after a violent altercation with another patient and a nurse. Looking at the circumstances around his untimely death, it’s clear his blackness was threatening to staff members. He had been using the mental health for at least a decade, yet his needs as a black Rastafarian were not being met.

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Protect your staff from stress

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Files & employeesource: Not for Profit Bulletin
published: August 2015

Your people are your greatest asset, so it makes sense to try and keep them stress-free. Offering expensive perks like gym membership may help with reducing stress but are unaffordable in the third sector.

Instead you should look for ways to reduce stress by making small changes which build staff resilience, e.g. promoting positive thinking, steering people away from negative language, and getting them to focus on what they can control rather than what they can’t. Simple strategies can lead to a resilient mind-set as well as improved work-life balance.

Star Performer Training deliver a simple but effective Resilience Training programme which helps charities (such as the Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract) identify strategies to reduce stress and build resilience, so that staff have the positive mind-set essential for high performance. Continue reading