A number of activities are taking place in Wolverhampton over the coming days as part of the national campaign, organised by Time to Change.
The Wolverhampton Community and Wellbeing Hub on Lichfield Street, which offers support to adults who want to improve their emotional and mental wellbeing, will be holding a series of events from 12.45pm to 4pm on Time to Talk Day, including information stands and taster sessions on managing stress and anxiety. For more information, please contact the Hub on 01902 715962.
Wolverhampton Voluntary Sector Council's Mental Health Empowerment Team will be holding a drop in session on Friday (3 February) from 1pm to 3pm. People are invited to call in to the WVSC offices at 16 Temple Street, Wolverhampton, for a hot drink and slice of cake and take part in informal discussions about mental health.
Meanwhile, members of Wolverhampton's pioneering HeadStart programme, which is designed to help young people develop skills to deal with the pressures of modern life, are creating a short film. They are working with students from Colton Hills School on a project designed to get young people to open up about their thoughts, positive and negative, reflective and aspirational, and to encourage others to do the same.
Finally, a Five Ways to Wellbeing Workshop is being held as part of the Time to Talk campaign at the #SmallGoodThings event at the Bob Jones Community Hub, Bromley Street, Blakenhall, on Tuesday 14 February, 2017. The hour long workshop will take place at 11.30am and again at 2pm. To register, please call 01902 551106.
As part of the campaign, local businesses are also being encouraged to follow the lead of major employers including the City of Wolverhampton Council, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and University of Wolverhampton by demonstrating commitment to achieving Workplace Wellbeing Charter status.
All 3 organisations recognise the importance of mental health as part of workplace wellbeing and are now looking to develop this area of work further by achieving excellence in the Mental Health and Wellbeing standard of the charter.
Councillor Paul Sweet, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: "It's really important that people feel they can be open about discussing mental health issues, and being ready to listen, which could have a hugely positive impact on someone's life.
"Talking about mental health doesn't need to be difficult. It can be as simple as making time to have a cup of tea or going for a walk, and spending that time listening to someone open up about how they feel."
For more information about Time to Talk Day, please visit Type=links;Linkid=8059;Title=Time to Change;Target=_blank;. For details of the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, please visit Type=links;Linkid=8060;Title=The Workplace Wellbeing Charter;Target=_blank;.
- released: Tuesday 31 January, 2017