Warwickshire residents can find advice to look after their general health and wellbeing on the county council’s Living Well website.
The resource is targeted at adults and brings together a wide range of information and services from the council in one place. It promotes healthy lifestyles and encourages people to take preventative measures to keep themselves safe and well.
It’s important for people to take steps to protect their wellbeing and an effective way to do this is to connect with other people.
The Living Well site includes a number of resources about this, including community support.
The Living Well pages include a link to a community directory called SearchOut with information about a range of community organisations, services and events in the county. The directory includes a category on health and social care information and local organisations that can help with physical and mental health and wellbeing, plus associated groups, events and activities.
The site can be used in two ways; either to browse current listings or people can add manage information about their own services. Information is listed by topic so that people can easily search for what they need.
For those who are struggling with their mental health, the directory has links to services for mental health across Warwickshire, including local MIND services, KeyRing support networks and community cafes to attend in person.
The website includes a wealth of information about SEND support services and support groups. This includes universal, targeted and expert services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
There’s information and support available for parents and carers, services and organisations for young people to get in touch with, services for counselling and therapy and services for befriending, which can help to give people new direction in life, open up new activities and lead to increased self-esteem and self-confidence.
People who are struggling with feelings of loneliness or social isolation can also use the website to access support. Loneliness can affect anyone at any time, and one person’s feelings of loneliness might differ from someone else’s.
There is a wealth of local resources that people can access if they are feeling lonely or socially isolated, or how they can help someone they know who is experiencing those feelings, including ways to reach out to others, information about community groups and links to support services in Warwickshire are also promoted.
For those looking to connect to learning opportunities, Living Well has links to training courses to develop or hone their skills, as well as services that provide business and employment support. Adult learning is a great way for people to boost their wellbeing, overcome loneliness and improve their mental health.
Living Well also links to the Warwickshire Food Strategy and in particular Community Pantries, which have been set up to help address food poverty in the county, offering people support to afford and access food for people if they are struggling to make ends meet.
As well as food support, the community pantries offer a safe space for people who are at a point of crisis, to engage with Citizens Advice support workers to resolve underlying causes of individual situations.
Councillor Margaret Bell, Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for Adult Social Care and Health said: “The council’s Living Well website provides you with the opportunity to link in with your local community and access a wide range of support and guidance.
“We know that it can be difficult for residents to access the information they want to improve health and wellbeing and this is where community support plays an important role.
“We have some fantastic community links here in Warwickshire and I urge you to visit our Living Well website now to explore the options available.”
Head to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/livingwell to find out more about the support available for residents in Warwickshire.