Dosti is an Asian Women’s support service based in Leeds, offering a supportive environment for Asian women with mental health issues. In April 2016, Dosti joined Touchstone via a merger. Services are only offered through referrals which can be self-referrals or referrals from other professionals such as GPs. Access to the service is fast and in most cases the contact time is within one week of the referral being received.
We offer one-to-one emotional support, counselling, relaxation techniques, CAB and advocacy support. Our services are designed to help promote social participation that encourages users to attend groups and activities so that they can learn strategies to better manage their mental health and wellbeing.
Activities help service users to cope and manage their lives better as well as increasing their self-confidence, building self-esteem and creating social networks. We work with others to ensure the service is tailored to individual needs. Our case work is diverse in nature which includes dealing with issues related to mental health, isolation, abuse, domestic violence and safeguarding.
Dosti also supports service users to improve their skills and knowledge to access job opportunities. Service users access 10 week courses throughout the year in ESOL, IT and learning mobile technology. These courses enable the women to build up their confidence and skills to access job, learning and voluntary work opportunities.
We have three groups that run throughout the week and our dedicated staff last year supported many women leading to the following achievements:

  • 10 women achieved accredited qualifications and are now passing on their knowledge to encourage others.
  • 11 women found employment and a large number of the service users are working on a voluntary basis. The voluntary work includes running peer-led groups on outings and activities that promote social inclusion.
  • 67 new referrals last year (2015/16)
  • 91 people on active caseload
  • 10 service users on CPA (Care Plan Agreement)
  • 10 service users with a social worker