Shine Lincolnshire

What is the business?

Shine Lincolnshire was founded in 2013. It provides a free peer support service to people with various mental health difficulties – first in Gainsborough, then opening centres in Lincoln and in Louth. The model that Shine Lincolnshire uses creates safe spaces for people in crisis, and it enables them to “shine at what (they) do.”

History

While Shine’s Peer Link Workers knew the impact they had on their local community, they struggled to quantify it in any specific terms. Putting values on quality of life, improved mental well being, and reduced risks of suicide is not something that can be done easily, or applied easily across different cases. Because each individual client had their own specific needs, putting together any kind of case study was difficult.

How did LORIC help?

LORIC engaged with Shine in late 2017. Through a series of conversations with the Peer Link Workers and Shine’s managers, we put together an Excel calculator that helps the company work out the Social Return on Investment of its activities. The calculator uses all open data, from the NHS and the UK government’s websites, to quantify the work of the Peer Link Workers. It showed that in one year of activity, Shine delivered nearly £10m. worth of social impact through the activities of its volunteers.

Plans for the future

Although Shine was set to close down in September 2019, their hard work and evidence managed to secure them transitional funding for another 6 months. This funding will allow Shine to plan for the next three years and hopefully continue to do their important work.