What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm

BAND

BAND is a Bolton based community adult mental health project. We are a Family Action project

26/09/2025

Feedback Friday!

This week, our feedback is extra special as today we say goodbye to our wonderful placement student, Martin.

Martin has brought so much knowledge, energy, and kindness during his time with us. He has been incredibly generous in sharing his expertise, delivering training, and supporting our service users on their recovery journeys.

He has truly become a valued member of our team, and we will miss him greatly. 💙

Thank you, Martin, for everything. As the feedback shows, you’ve made a real difference! 👏

25/09/2025

✨ Greenhouse Project Celebration Day ✨🌱

Today, we celebrated our achievements over the last 15 months and gave a very special send-off to Kelly, who has been our project facilitator for that time. As she will now be working with our wonderful womens group.

We began the morning with croissants and fresh fruit, and later enjoyed pizza and a delicious crumble made with fruit from our own garden. 🍎

Each person was celebrated with certificates marking their individual achievements, along with a little gift from Kelly, who shared how much she will miss working alongside everyone. It has been such a privilege to see so much growth and development in this time.

Kelly was showered with love, receiving beautiful gifts, heartfelt cards, stunning flowers, and a touching speech from Phil. She truly felt her cup was overflowing with gratitude and joy. 💐

While it’s a beautiful ending for Kelly with this project, it’s also the beginning of new and exciting chapters—with Phil and Sam now leading the way forward.

Here’s to celebrating everything we’ve achieved together and to the bright future ahead! 💚🌱

24/09/2025

Relax, Recharge, and Connect ✨

This morning in our women’s group, we explored the calming world of ASMR. We started with a guided meditation, then discovered the soothing power of different textures, scents, and sounds, finding the ones that resonated most with each of us.

We wrapped up our session with herbal teas and left feeling refreshed, relaxed, and a little lighter.

A beautiful reminder of how simple sensory experiences can nourish our minds and hearts.

23/09/2025

The Out and Abouters group in Liverpool!

Ian had this to say about the trip - We kicked things off with lunch at The Fall Well (Wetherspoons) before heading to the Museum of Liverpool - definitely the highlight of the day. It was fascinating to see how the city has shaped music, sport, and culture, as well as its rich maritime history. From the Beatles to Liverpool FC, and exhibitions showing how the city has evolved over time, there was so much to take in!

We rounded things off with a lovely stroll along the waterfront, snapping plenty of photos of the stunning buildings, boats, and statues. 📸

We can’t wait to hear all about their next trip!

22/09/2025

Did you know?

Recovery isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. It looks different for everyone, and that’s
okay.

Some paths include:
🤝Therapy and counselling
👭Support groups or peer support
👨‍⚕️Medication or clinical treatment
🧘‍♀️Mindfulness, art, movement, and community connection.
There’s no “right way” to heal - just your way.

21/09/2025

We had a great turnout for the quiz last Monday!

Big thanks to Martin for coming up with the questions and to Dave for delivering them so well.

Don’t worry if you don’t fancy doing a quiz on your own. You can always team up. It’s all about having fun and connecting with others.

If you missed this one there is always the next quiz!

20/09/2025

Thankyou Philip for the musical interlude yesterday! You brightened our day 🥳

19/09/2025

Greenhouse Project 🌿

Our afternoon team rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in yesterday! One of our regular hardworkers cleared away the dirt to uncover a lovely brick path around the beds – it’s really starting to give the garden more structure and makes everything feel ready for the new beds to be built. 🧱

The hard work continued with the decking, too drilling the supports into place and making real progress. It's a proper team effort, and it’s fantastic to see the space transforming step by step.

Why not come along next week and give us a hand!

18/09/2025

Greenhouse Project – Morning Group Update 🌱

We had a lovely, relaxed morning today plenty of chatting, laughter, and a couple of games to keep us on our toes! 🎲

First up was a fun round of Herd Mentality, followed by Scrabble. Some of our Scrabble newbies jumped in for the first time and did brilliantly – we were so impressed! 👏

It’s always such a joy to spend the morning together, sharing conversation, smiles, and a few giggles along the way. 💚

17/09/2025

💚 Women’s Wellbeing Group 💚

This mornings session was all about connection, creativity, and care. The ladies enjoyed making friendship bracelets, plaiting each other’s hair, relaxing with some colouring, and most importantly, sharing conversation and laughter together.

Sometimes it’s the simple moments of creativity and companionship that bring the biggest boost to our mental wellbeing.

16/09/2025

Yesterday’s Social Support group was full of fun, laughs, and a touch of competitive spirit! We had a bit of Scrabble, some colouring, and a Dominoes battle where Craig beat Julie 2–1 and celebrated with a big “Wooo!” and a fist pump in the air.

The photo really captures those concentration faces in action 😅🧩✏️.

15/09/2025

🧰 Your Recovery Toolkit - Recovery Month

Recovery looks different for everyone, but having a few go-to tools can make the journey feel more manageable and supported.

Here are some practical tools to keep in your Recovery Toolkit:

🔧 Support System – Trusted friends, family, therapists, and peer groups. You don’t have to do this alone.

🗜 Coping Skills List – Grounding techniques, breathing exercises, journaling - these things support emotional regulation.

🛠 Daily Routine - Structure helps create stability. Even small habits (getting dressed, taking a walk) make a difference.

🪛 Safety Plan - A list of emergency contacts, coping tools, and steps to take when things feel overwhelming.

🪚 Creative Outlet - Art, music, gardening, crafts - expression is healing.

⚒️ Mindfulness Practices - Meditation, deep breathing, prayer, stretching - whatever helps to ground you.

⛏️ Self-Compassion - Talk to yourself with the kindness you’d offer a friend. Progress isn’t always perfect.

Tip: Keep a Recovery folder to store your tools, notes, and resources so you can grab it when you need it.

What’s one tool that’s helped you in your recovery journey? Drop it in the comments - your experience might help someone else.

Address

YMCA, 125 Deansgate
Bolton
BL11HA

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 4:30pm

Website

https://family-action.org.uk/services/band-mental-health-support/

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