Section 5: How the Gateshead MECC Approach Has Challenged Inequalities

Skills4 Work Gateshead Ltd. supports young adults aged 16 to 30 years. Their focus is to assist these young adults with a variety of disabilities and/or mental health conditions to make the difficult transition from education to the workplace and maintain positive mental wellbeing. Skills4Work were one of the first organisations to participate in the Gateshead MECC training programme. Three members of the group attended the MECC training programme in its entirety:  

• What Is MECC  

• Behaviour change principles  

• Motivational interviewing techniques  

• 5 ways to wellbeing  

• Physical activity  

• Healthy weight  

• Nutrition  

• Have a word about alcohol  

• Tobacco awareness  

• Drugs awareness  

The group then used the information gained in these training sessions to adapt weekly activities for their clients, to include key messages from these sessions. These include portion sizes when trying to reduce weight gain, a rainbow of colour when cooking together to balance their vitamin and mineral intake and behaviour change support techniques when helping each other to make increase their physical activity levels.

After the first round of training was completed, discussions occurred to enable more bespoke workshops to be held, these included nutrition quizzes, a focus on mental health through the Connect 5 training programme, menopause awareness and linking mental health to physical activity with physical minds training.

The final MECC training opportunity permitted several members of the group to participate in the Train The Trainer programme which would enable them to train other members of their group on the MECC principles and methods. 

Participation in the MECC programme has expanded the support and opportunities that organisations like Skills4Work have access to through the partnership, these have included:

Because of the MECC partnership meetings, Skills4Work have been introduced to key workers at the QE. This enabled a workshop from Infection control team at the hospital, to teach the young adults about hand hygiene in a fun and interactive way that they now remember.

Skills4Work now have access to work placements at the QE as a consequence of introductions through partnership working.

Skills4Work met members of the Gateshead Council Employment Services team, who were also MECC trained. Support for placements, workshops and funding has been accessed by Skills4work group members.

North East Energy Action (NEA) were invited to a MECC event and because of this NEA were able to support three families linked to Skills4Work with fuel poverty.

MECC has linked Skills4work with two organisations who support LGBTQ communities, and this has raised awareness to their members of the support available to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community members. 

Section 6: Inequalities and COVID-19