Latest News 
May 2012
Mel Akers, our Chief Executive, has started writing a blog!
April 2012
Chief Executive Mel Akers is retiring, and has been interviewed by The Post about his 15 years as head of Milestones Trust. Mel looked back over the changes he has overseen, including the growth of the staff team from eight people to over 1000, and the transition to community care.
Mel reflected on the strengths of the organisation, how its staff go the extra mile for service users, and the challenges its new CEO may encounter. You can read the full article here.
April 2012
Expressions is nearly here! Find out more about our Festival of Creativity at the Paintworks, Bath Road, Bristol.
March 2012
Look out for our Spring edition of Choices magazine, our newsletter by and for service users. You can Download it as a pdf or read a text-only version, which you can print in as large a size as you need. Or contact us for a print copy.
November 2011
The Autumn version of Choices magazine, our service user newsletter, is now available online. Download it as a pdf or read a text-only version, which you can print in as large a size as you need.
September 2011
Expressions 2011
Milestone Trusts ‘Expressions’ group are presenting their latest exhibition at St Stephen’s Café and Garden this October.
‘Tea in the Uncanny Valley (and other weirdness)’ is the latest collection from the group which is dedicated to increase inclusion and participation in the arts. The exhibition features the work of Milestones Trust’s textile group and from individuals from the trust.
We will have a Big Draw event and Big Knit event, plus drawing workshops and a poetry evening. Expressions exhibitions are always more than just pictures on gallery walls.
The collection includes life size textile figures and a mix of graphic works in the Centrespace Gallery. It then extends into St Stephen’s café and garden for outside works, including giant blackboards as part of the Big Draw month, plus Milestones’ own Big Knit event, crafted by the Knitiffi group of local urban guerrilla knitters!
Amongst the attractions will be a Drawing Exchange event on Saturday 15 and 22 October, poetry sharing on Monday 17 October and performance of poetry on Friday 21 October, led by the Studio Upstairs writers group.
The collection will be exhibited at the Centrespace Gallery 15-19 October and at St Stephen’s Café and Garden 15 -22 October.
For more details contact Alan Altoft at Alana@milestonestrust.org.uk
Aug 2011
RBS Volunteers Work Wonders 
Around 75 volunteers from RBS visited seven homes and worked hard to spruce them up. They undertook decorating, built garden furniture, painted and cleared to give homes a fresh new look. Dave Shalliday of RBS said "we are delighted to lend our support to such a worthwhile charity again this year." The relationship between RBS and Milestones Trust began last year when teams of volunteers helped to transform five houses.
May 2011
The Spring version of Choices magazine, our service user newsletter, is now available online. Download it as a pdf or read a text-only version, which you can print in as large a size as you need.
April 2011
Aspects and Milestones is now called Milestones Trust! Find out more about the rebranding and 25th anniversary celebrations.
December 2010
The Winter edition of Choices, our newsletter by and for service users, is now available!
You can download it as a pdf, or you can read a text-only version, which you can print in as large a size as you want.
November 2010
Legendary knitting group Knitiffi now have their own blog! The yarn-bombing group is made up of staff and service users and anyone can join. See some of their amazing projects, including the Expressions 2010 knitted caravan, by visiting their blog.
September 2010
Hands-on Creativity for All at Major Arts Event
Milestones Trust has announced Expressions 2010, a free creative arts event to be held at the Paintworks Exhibition Space, Bath Road, Bristol from 5th-9th October 2010.
George Ferguson, CBE, will open the event with a Private View and charity auction on Monday 4th October. An outspoken former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, George was also a presenter on the Channel 4 TV series Demolition, and has championed urban regeneration in the South West.
This year’s event places a special emphasis on making the arts accessible and interactive for everyone. As well as a major exhibition, there will be a cardboard cinema showing original film and animation, a giant interactive puppet, a camera obscura, music, poetry and street art workshops, a theatrical fashion show, knitted sculpture, costumed photography and Tall Story writing. Entrance is free of charge.
“Working towards such a high-profile event has focused creative energies right across the Trust,” said Mel Akers, Chief Executive of Milestones Trust.
“Visitors will get the chance to express their own creativity, as well as viewing some of the amazing art created by the people our services support,” Many of the projects, such as the animations and photography, are the result of workshops that have been going on throughout the year.
“Expressions, for us, runs all year,” said Alan Altoft, the Trust’s Mental Health Lead. “We arrange for practicing artists to provide mentoring, and run workshops and longer projects, to develop people’s work and ambition. Our aim is to support individuals and groups to exhibit and be a part of Bristol’s thriving arts scene.”
At the end of the exhibition, the Trust will host a Hawaiian-themed party for all of those who use its services, including, of course, the exhibiting artists.
Public opening times are:
Tuesday 5 October: 7.30pm-9.00pm (Wicked Wardrobe fashion show)
Wednesday 6 October: 11.00am-8.00pm
Thursday 7 October: 11.00am-8.00pm
Friday 8 October: 11.00am-8.00pm
Saturday 9 October: 11.00am-3.00pm
For a full programme and details of the workshops, please contact Heather Child on 0117 9709 389, or see www.milestonestrust.org.uk/expressions.html
June 2010
New Choices magazine available online
The summer edition of Choices, the newsletter by and for service users, is now available to view as a virtual magazine.
It contains a range of exciting new articles including the story of a client who has recently moved into her own flat for the first time, and a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to caring for your cat.
You can also download it as a Word document if it would help you to enlarge the text and print it.
The magazine will be published soon, so look out for it arriving on your doormat!
October 2009
Collectable portrait of Michael Jackson
International Digi Artist, BJ Chapman, has donated to Milestones Trust this rare first edition Gicl’ee print of Michael Jackson. As a Digi Artist, BJ photographs celebrities and then turns the results in to unique works of art.
This collectable piece of art, is titled, “A Gentle Soul”. The photo was taken in 2006 by BJ Chapman when Michael was attending The World Music Awards, at Earls Court.
Milestones Trust is now receiving silent bids for the print. To make a bid, please submit your name, address and contact number making clear the price you would wish to pay for this work.
Bids should be marked private and sent to:
David Allford
Milestones Trust
Unit 10, Eclipse Office Park
High Street
Staple Hill
Bristol BS16 5EL
Silent bids can also be made on the artist’s web gallery at here
The closing date of all bids is the 15 Dec 2009.
The person making the highest bid will secure the picture. In the event of more than one winning bid, being received for the same price, Milestones Trust will contact the individuals and provide an opportunity for further bids to be made. The winning bid will be announced on our website.
April 2009
Wyvern Lodge is officially excellent!
Milestones' Wyvern Lodge in Weston Super Mare has received the highest possible rating as a result of an inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). The Commission undertook the inspection in January, 2009, and has recently announced that Wyvern Lodge in Weston Super Mare achieved a ‘Three Star / Excellent rating.
In her report, the Inspector said:
““The service provides an excellent level of support and development opportunities for residents with mental health needs. Residents live in a very well run home and they are very well supported with their needs when they stay there. The manager is very creative in her style and consistently looks for ways to improve standards even further.”
Wyvern Lodge is managed by Beth Hendry who has worked at Wyvern for the last 8 years. Of the Inspector’s announcement, Beth said:
“Before the inspection we have to provide a lot of information about how the home is run and our management ethos. We put a lot of effort in to providing good quality information so there were no surprises for the Inspector when she arrived. The Inspector drew particular attention to the care plans we prepare with each resident which explore with them the type of support they want. She also liked how we encourage our residents to be part of running the home and also how residents are involved in the process for recruiting new staff.
We have a great team of residents and staff at Wyvern and we make sure the home is a safe and enjoyable place to live. Mental ill health can affect any of us. Many of our residents will move on to more independent living – Wyvern is all about giving people the skills to live in the community.”
Beth continued:
“This result is a credit to all the staff and service users at Wyvern Lodge – the efforts of the whole team have achieved this rating and I’m so grateful to everyone for the contribution they make. Perhaps the best thing about the inspection is that I wasn’t even in that day – that shows it really is a team effort and not reliant on any one individual!!”
November 2008
As a MINDFUL EMPLOYER, Milestones Trust seeks to adopt recruitment and retention processes which support people experiencing mental ill health and to increase awareness of mental health in the workplace.
October 2008
The annual Awards celebration took place on October at Clifton Pavilion (Bristol Zoo Gardens) to celebrate the achieves of over 65 employees who had achieved qualifications in both the professional and academic areas of health and social care. 27 individuals plus a guest of their choice attended and were joined by the Chief Executive and Trustees in order to fully acknowledge those achievements and to recognise the efforts required.
Clubhouse welcomes a new manager and announces a new name!
A warm welcome goes to Ella Hydes who has recently been appointed as Manager of the Clubhouse based at Easton Community Centre. Ella comes with a wealth of experience most recently gained whilst working with the National Autistic Society and Development Co-ordinator for the Out of School Clubs (OoSC). Whilst at the National Autistic Society, Ella supported and developed OoSCs throughout the South West – these are youth groups for children and young people with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism. She also managed and recruited both staff and volunteers.
Ella explains her new role:
“Katie, Helen and I will be supporting the group of members to offer a safe place to develop employment skills. We will offer work place learning and experience with a particular focus on admin, gardening, maintenance and generally running a busy office. We have lots of plans but our most exciting one is the launch of our café in February – we’ll be offering a menu which is healthy,
wherever possible fair trade and has a low environmental impact. The café will be run by service users and members of staff.
And the Clubhouse has changed it’s name! We’re now going to be known as ‘Work INClusive’ to more properly reflect
exactly what we do. Look out for our new logo!”
For more information on Work INClusive contact Ella on 07900 583785
August 2008
Hi everyone!
My name is Roz Andrews and I’ve just joined the Aspects team as a Support Worker.
I’ve just come back from my first boat trip with the Willow Trust taking a service user called Adrian. What a lovely guy with a great sense of humour! I met Adrian at 9am at the Vassall Centre and linked up with Christabelle (fellow Community Services Support Worker) and Jo.
When we arrived the boat’s captain, Dave, organised the seating – wheelchair users on the outside and more physically able people in the central aisle. We were all offered drinks and then had a demonstration of the life jackets. Getting life jackets to fit us all was hilarious! I asked for a large and was given a medium so was well chuffed! Wendy was given a large and resembled the Michelin man whilst Debbie claimed to be a size 8!
Jenny, our wonderful trip organiser, kept making sure we were all ok, assisting with life jackets and taking lots of photos. Jenny was patient, warm and kind throughout the day and we can’t wait for another trip soon!
At 1pm the Captain moored our lovely boat and the staff put chairs on the bank so people could have their lunch there or remain on the boat – whichever they preferred. The Captain moved some chairs for Vicky so that the lady she was supporting – Mel– could get out of her wheelchair and stretch out on the floor. But Mel promptly got on to one of the chairs herself. It just shows how doing something different and all being together can be really empowering for service users.
When lunch was over, the Captain said we could all have a go at steering the boat. April had a go and ably steered the boat under a bridge – well done April! Adrian instructed us all to keep focused when we were steering and the Captain told Adrian he was in charge because he is so good at keeping us all in order. He asked Adrian if he’d like a job! At the end of the day, Adrian did 3 cheers for the Captain and we all clapped.
The boat had a lift, a bed which could be curtained off for any service users who required personal care and, all in all, could easily have been a 5 star hotel!
There are some lovely pictures of everyone and, Jenny, thanks for a fantastically organised day!
July 2008
Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride
On a lovely sunny [but rather windy] Sunday morning, thousands of people came together to celebrate cycling—undertaking various routes and distances. One cyclist was Chris Wiltshire from Forest Road in Kingswood.
Chris cycled from Millennium Square at the harbourside in the centre of Bristol, all the way to Pill, returning to the finish of his ride at Greville Smythe Park in Ashton. He collected a ride certificate, met up with friends and enjoyed some much deserved refreshment.
Chris really enjoyed participating in the ride and is already looking forward to next year’s event. A sponsored walk for charity in October is next on Chris’s agenda.
May 2008
My Trip to the London Eye
One Monday morning Christabelle came and fetched me in the blue vehicle and we drove to Bristol Parkway and then we got on the platform waiting for our train to Reading. We had booked somebody to help us on and off. The train was very busy which we didn’t mind because we had booked our seats well in advance. Our seats were just inside the door and easy to get to. We travelled to Reading where we had to change trains, which worked out rather well. We managed to get our next train to Waterloo without any hassle. We stopped at various stations along the line. I had my favourite station which was Egham. Christabelle had her favourite station which was Sunningdale.
Once we arrived at Waterloo, Christabelle had to look for somebody to get me off the train because there was no-one there! Eventually they came and found me! Then we had a short walk to the London Eye which was quite easy to get to. I thought to myself how are they going to get me all up there – it was higher than I imagined. We had to go to the booking office to let them know we were there and they helped us to get on. They escorted me past a lot of people queuing so I could get in the right spot to get in a capsule. I was a bit worried because I didn’t know what to expect when it moved. At the beginning, I held Christabelle’s hand because she said she was frightened of heights! After a little while we became more at ease as it started to go up. I was quite surprised how safe we felt. During our trip we were able to move about freely inside the capsule. We could see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the boats on the river Thames, which looked ever so small, just like dinky toys. We took a camera and took lots of pictures. The flight lasted half-an-hour. We could see for miles – there was so much to take in, we didn’t know where to look.
After our flight we visited the gift shop where I bought some posters and a glass mug and then it was time to make our way back to Waterloo ready to start our homeward journey. We wished we had booked a later train so we could have stayed a bit longer. Next time, that’s what we are going to do. I enjoyed our day immensely.
David Hampton
April 2008
Nursing Times Award
Well its not every day that ‘work’ invites you to a free champagne lunch in London is it? Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity when they asked me!
Along with others within the Trust, I’d been invited to complete a questionnaire for the Nursing Times with regard to staff support and development. Our views were rewarded by recognising us as one of the top 100 service providers in the country.
I was fortunate, along with Dianne, Helen and Tim to have my name drawn from the proverbial hat, and the old suit was dusted off ready to impress. Having caught the train up to Paddington, and a couple of underground stops on to Marylebone, we met in the Music Room of the Landmark Hotel for a glass of champers at midday with some 300 other guests from around the country.
The venue was extremely luxurious and the service exceptional. A tasteful three-course meal was enjoyed with a glass of wine, mixed with some very pleasant company.
Following our meal, a Nursing Times spokesperson gave a brief address in recognition of our services and the importance of support and development opportunities to value staff and their commitment to work. The top ten providers received an accolade of a certificated award and two others were recognised for significant improvement.
As the Trust’s first invitation, and our Nursing Times distinction, maybe next time we’ll rise to the top ten through continued staff investment on an individual and organisation level, reflecting our valued service.
Paul Martin
Elysian Villas
