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The Revolution Starts Here
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
Come and see an exclusive trade fair to celebrate Social Enterprise in the West Midlands
10 February 11:00- 6pm- The Marquee- Centenary Square- Birmingham
This Feb will see My Time CIC exhibit alongside an array of West Midland based Social Enterprises and Social Firms, to promote its work around mental health and well being.
The aim of the event is to promote the work of Social Entrepreneurs and Enterprises that support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people and communitie in the West Midlands. The event is organised by Social Enterprise West Midlands and funded by Advantage West Midlands.
If you are in Birmingham on the 10th then please pop in for a taster of what the West Midlands Social Economy has to offer.
For further information about the event and Social Enterprises then please visit www.socialenterprisewm.org.uk
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World Mental Health Day
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
World mental Health day with My Time and the NHS
My Time will be celebrating World Mental Health day this Saturday at the Small Heath Health Centre with the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust. The event is organised by the centre and BSMHFT and will be hosting an array of activities throughout the day.
My Time’s Sheena Chauda, a highly trained Bollywood and Belly Dancer, will be performing throughout the day at the centre. World Mental Health day is a worldwide celebration and acknowledgement of the importance of our mental well being and health.
If you are in Birmingham on Saturday, please feel free to pop into Small Heath Health Centre situated opposite our offices on Herbert Road and take part in the days activities.
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My Time Team visits Italy to investigate domestic violence and stalking intervention
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
This Month the My Time Team visits Italy with the West Midlands Police in a joint international project with other counselling teams and emergency services throughout Europe, to improve and expand current domestic violence prevention services.
My Time Ltd sent its stalking Research Project Team to Leverano, Italy, earlier this month to take part in an international research study into the causes of stalking and obsessional behaviour.
My Time has participated in three symposiums on Stalking and will be hosting the fourth Symposium taking place in August at our Birmingham Practice.
There have been over 800 reported incident in the West Midlands during the last six months. Only a low proportion of these offences resulted in positive court results and most women- the majority of victims- stay within these situations. My Time, working with West Midlands Police in selected areas of Birmingham, has launched a cutting edge, innovative pilot, being run in Inner City Birmingham, that is international in approach.
Michael Lilley, Managing of Director of My Time, explains: “Stalking in the UK is not a crime in itself, until such time as an individual is harmed. It is My Time’s view that action should be taken much earlier with the objective of encouraging the stalker to stop his- or her in fewer cases- irrational behaviour before an individual is mentally or physically injured or even killed”.
The pilot surrounds the Stalking KIT, a model where the perpetrator is offered a package of counselling at the earliest possible opportunity with a view to bringing this obessional behavior to a stop.
“As soon as a complaint is made to the police, efforts should be made to contact the stalker and set up counselling sessions to tackle the root cause which is stimulating him to act in an irrational manner”
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Financial pressures depress Birmingham’s forty something’s
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
The news this week that people in their forties are most likely to be depressed comes as no surprise to Michael Lilley, managing director of My Time Ltd, and his colleagues, who see 200 people from Birmingham and the wider West Midlands each week, many of whom are depressed due to financial difficulties and relationship break up.
“Seventy per cent of our clients are aged between 38 and 52, and what is often referred to as a mid-life crisis is triggered by numerous pressures,” says Michael, speaking at My Times’ Small Heath offices. “Factors include risk of divorce, large mortgages meaning that splitting of houses can leave people in poverty, rising cost of living, low wages, job loss, having children later in life and so on.
“Ten years ago a single parent mother could go to college and university on a grant, retrain and build a new career with employment prospects, whereas today she would have to take out a loan. Of those people we see, who are employed in roles ranging from senior managers to supermarket check out operators, many are clinging on to jobs where they are unhappy, tolerating bullying and harassment.”
My Time Ltd offers counselling to a broad spectrum of organisations and individuals, from the emergency services to farmers in Staffordshire and black and minority ethnic communities in inner city locations. It has developed a delivery style which offers support via a mix of group practical activities and one-to-one counselling. Its clients come from over 20 countries of origin.
“We have seen an increase in the number of men whose relationships have ended and they are living in virtually one room as most of their income is allocated to maintenance, their job prospects are limited and they are feeling suicidal,” continues Michael. “The other side of the coin is the increasing number of women who are trying to raise a family alone while working long hours.
“These middle aged men and women are exhausted, depressed and can see no future. Until recently their efforts focused upon keeping their heads above water but now more are drowning in financial storms.”
According to Michael, the turning of the financial screw also means many of the people he sees are using all their savings to survive now, when they would have preferred to build up or supplement their pensions.
“A mid-life crisis traditionally was a means of responding, and hopefully adapting, to age and the next phase in life, a period of change and reflection,” continues Michael. “Now the feedback from clients is that it’s a time for people to increase their debt to survive.”My Time is increasingly deploying its programmes of pragmatic action to support its clients. “It is important for us to talk to our clients to get to the root causes of their anxiety,” explains Michael. “But we are not a talking shop. Having identified the catalysts for depression we work out programs of activity for clients to deal with the issues. This can range from liaising with banks to agree repayment schedules to finding child-minding facilities so that a parent can go to work.
“People used to say that life began at forty. There are too many out there who are on the verge of ending their lives at forty and something needs to be done about it. I would strongly urge anyone who is finding life hard to cope with to seek expert help. Problems must be tackled rather than hidden from, which only makes them worse.”
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