At Maples, we prioritise the importance of compassion and mental health advocacy within our workforce. We are excited to introduce Dione, also known as Dee, who serves as one of our Compass Navigators. Join us as we delve into the invaluable role she plays in supporting our service users throughout their journey with Maples. Discover the profound impact Dee brings to our organisation, where compassion and mental health support are at the forefront of everything we do.
What are your passions?
“My passion is music, I’m a singer and songwriter, I haven’t done it for a while, but I used to put on bands as well. I love socialising, being around my friends and my family, I like watching good films and documentaries.
I also enjoy doing a lot of research about mental health, it’s something I’m passionate about, if I don’t understand enough about a service user, then I may read up on more information on their mental illness to learn how best I can support them. I also do work with Postscript 360, who help to reduce the harms caused by drugs either prescribed or bought illicitly.”
How did you find the Maples?
“I worked with Maples for over 15 years while at Bristol City Council, many of my service users were offered support at Maples and as a provider, I felt very highly of Maples because I had witnessed first-hand the exceptional support they provide to individuals who may be difficult to reach.
So, for me, I wanted to work with Maples, I specifically sought employment with them. Luckily, I got the job. I’m thrilled with the development that Julie, Jon and Ben have done; we’re here developing something exciting for our service users. This is a bespoke service and is catered to each individual person because they’re all different. When you’ve got schizophrenia, you’re not the same as another person with schizophrenia. I love that Maples sees our service users as a person, and not as their mental health condition.”
Tell us about your role: “My role is really varied; I review placement breakdowns and conduct assessments. The primary objective of my role is to assist individuals who face difficulties in engaging with the services, something we call non-engagement. For example, when someone is not settling, or if someone is not paying their bills, we try to get them engaged in that. I put measures in place which will support service users to get where they need to go and I’m quite happy to look-into lots of things for our service users, whatever a service user needs, whatever their wishes are, I’ll be there to support them to get there.” What inspired you to work in Mental health: “What inspired me to come into mental health is quite personal. Before this job, someone in my family became mentally unwell and I felt that in order help them, I needed a deeper understanding of mental health. So, when I retired from the job I was in, I decided to get into mental health care to see if I could help.
I’ve been in mental health for over 27 years now and working as a Social Care Practitioner means I know both sides, so this helps serve the service users as well.
My thing is helping people deal with their trauma and enabling them to embrace a brighter future and access the necessary services to facilitate their well-being.
Many people have endured unimaginable life experiences and managed to overcome them, but they continue to struggle with their mental health due to the trauma they have experienced and unfortunately can’t access the services they require to become well. I like to help these people understand that there is something much more exciting on the other side and I’ll help them get there.”
What have you enjoyed working at Maples?
“I think the people, not just the service users, but my colleagues as well, they make me excited to get up every day to come into work. I’m very blessed and I feel as a company we’re very blessed to have our directors and CEO making sure that we are doing the right things by our service users. My experience of working in mental health has been very important to me, and I feel like it’s not just helped my work, but it’s helped my family and friends because I get a lot of people phone me about how to sort certain things out and I’m happy to help; I’m here to serve.”
Staff members like Dee exemplify the core values of compassion and open-mindedness that we uphold at Maples. Her passion and commitment to understanding the unique needs of each service user highlight the exceptional care and support provided at Maples and is a testament to the transformative work we do to support individuals facing complex mental health challenges.
We are immensely grateful for the contributions of all our staff members, as their dedication and commitment make a profound difference in the lives of our service users and the wider community. Together, we continue to create a nurturing environment where compassion thrives, and mental health is prioritised. If this sounds like the type of working environment you’d thrive in, you can see our vacancies here: https://www.themaplescommunity.co.uk/join-our-team or you can contact us on info@maplescare.co.uk
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