I was sat in work the other day and our Communications Officer spoke to me about Fortunatus and how we can raise our profile on social media amongst mental health circles.  She left that quandary with me so I mulled it over, within half an hour I’d solved it!  ”We’re changing the name” I’d told her, my lightbulb moment was so bright, I swear you could see it from space!

And so it was born…..  Mindful Housing – Fortunatus Housing Solutions.  Within the hour I had changed the name, created a logo and the domain was ours.  Why Mindful Housing you ask?  Because it’s exactly what we do.  Mindfulness is focusing on what is happening to you right at this moment and not worrying about the past or the future.  Yes, right now, you are reading this fantastic blog and enjoying it (hopefully)!  You are not stressing about money, you’re not worried that someone doesn’t like you and you’re not panicking about if you switched off your hair straighteners.  So we are focusing on what we are doing right now for our tenants, taking every day at a time and providing a safe, comfortable and stable place for people to live so they don’t have to worry.  Right now, they are safe.

Mindfulness has also been a buzz word within the world of Mental Health for the past year and has been all over the news as a positive tool for anyone who suffers with a Mental Health condition.  Mindful Meditation is practiced all over the world and it works.  Try it! https://youtu.be/6PMuOBGpMos

We are a housing provider who house vulnerable adults who all suffer from a diagnosed Mental Health Issue.  Mindful Housing…. Remember the name, we’ll be rolling it out gradually over the next few years.  Check out our new pens and mini torches!

Mindful Housing – A Mental Health Charity promoting Mindfulness, Well Being and Positive Thinking!  I think it has a nice ring to it, don’t you?

So, a couple of weeks ago Julian, Sara (Wing woman and Charity Fundraising Manager) and I, went to the annual Institute of Fundraising Conference in Grange over Sands.  I was thrilled to be asked to speak which I always see as a great honour, and I got some great feedback from the other delegates.  I think we all came away with some great plans for fundraising in 2016 and how we can harness the power of social media.

This year’s theme for the conference was ‘Silver’ to mark 25 Years of the IOF, so the dancing shoes where polished and we had a great time.

Last week I was in London with previously mentioned ‘Wing Woman’ Sara.  Why you ask?  Sara graduated from the Institute of Fundraising with a certificate in Fundraising!  Studying isn’t for everyone, so anyone who invests their spare time staying late in work, putting in study time during weekends and still working full time deserves a treat.  I went with Sara to celebrate this incredible achievement and made sure she had a great time, and received the recognition she deserves for dedicating herself to Mindful Housing.

We grabbed a train down to London and bumped into my good friend Andrew Marsh who was also on his way down to the capital.  I’ve mentioned Andrew before in my blogs, he’s the General Manager of the Nadler Hotel in Liverpool and he was off to London to project manage the new Nadler Victoria.  These hotels are amazing, take a look …   http://www.thenadler.com/

So off Sara and I went, booked into our 3 bed apartment…… ahem….. with a roof terrace…. It was beautiful. We were duty bound to have a good mooch around London while we were there and pay a visit to the world famous department store Liberty of London, where I bought a new Christmas Bauble and felt like Christmas was truly on its way. On that note, I have to dash. Lots to organise over the next few weeks here at ‘Mindful Housing’ to make sure Christmas it celebrated in style!

If you would like to start getting organised for Christmas and would like buy some of our fabulous Christmas cards supporting adults living with a Mental Health Condition then you can do this via our website!

http://www.fortunatushousing.co.uk/fundraising-and-events/charity-christmas-cards/

See you soon!

Catherine x