Category: Latest News

Create a Stress Awareness Space at your workplace or school.

We all know what it’s like to feel stressed – being under pressure is a normal part of life. But becoming overwhelmed by stress can lead to mental health problems or make existing problems worse.

National Stress Awareness Day, which takes place on 7th November 2018, is a great opportunity to take a moment to think about our wellbeing and find advice or support on managing stress.

For us to maintain our wellbeing, noticing what’s making us stressed helps us learn how we can deal with it. This is particularly important in the workplace or school environment where stresses of workload and working relationships are common.

Create your own Stress Awareness Space where staff and students can share their thoughts and feelings when they are feeling stressed.

Sharing how you’re feeling with friends and colleagues can make a huge difference. By sharing, you could get some great advice and tips or find you can support other colleagues who need help.

World Mental Health Day was a big day for fundraising collections as our business development Lead, Jade Clarke, met with generous fundraisers who handed over more than £4,000 on the day alone, every penny of which will be spent supporting local people experiencing mental health issues. Find out what some of our fundraisers told us about why they chose to support Coventry and Warwickshire Mind below.

TSB Branch

A big thank you to Isaac Hinds and Rory Bentley from TSB Coventry High Street branch who ran the Draycote 10k Challenge on October 7th and raised a total of £1,595.85 for Coventry and Warwickshire Mind from the challenge and fundraising activities in branch. Coventry and Warwickshire Mind is the TSB branch’s chosen charity of the year and Rory has announced he will be taking part in the two further Draycote Runs in November this year and February 2019 for our charity. Isaac told us he believed it was a good challenge to take part in and a great opportunity to get involved with. He believes in the work and support that Coventry and Warwickshire Mind offers and he said he wanted to test himself and show what he could achieve.

The Loaded Gig

A huge thank you to Paul from the Coventry alternative band The Loaded who hosted an evening full of music at the Canal Basin in Coventry in September. The band raised £500 for Coventry and Warwickshire Mind on the night which was handed to CW Mind on World Mental Health Day. We asked Paul why he chose to support Coventry and Warwickshire Mind and he said he had lost a dear friend who suffered from mental health issues before he passed away and he wants to help make a difference. We truly appreciate the band’s support of our work.

RS Components

A samosa sale for staff was held at RS Components in Nuneaton where employees were given the opportunity to talk about mental health and wellbeing. They chose to support CW Mind as staff members have lost relatives due to mental health and they raised £1,282.18 in total through company match funding which was given to us on World Mental Health Day. We are so grateful.

Neil Griffiths Art Exhibition

Another big thank you goes to local artist Neil Griffiths who held his very first art exhibition at Dhillon’s Brewery and raised £150 for Coventry and Warwickshire Mind. The exhibition was held on September 28th and was a great success. We asked why he decided to raise money for our charity and he told us he truly believed in the work and support Coventry and Warwickshire Mind offers and wants to help raise awareness of mental health. Well done, Neil!

Power Runs

Thank you to the organisers of the Power Runs in Coventry and all the participants who raised a fantastic £800 for Coventry and Warwickshire Mind in a Summer Virtual Challenge which involved more than 50 local people who ran or walked 100k between July and September. The cheque was presented to us on World Mental Health Day as participants were awarded with medals in honour of their achievement. We are so proud of everyone involved.

Bracelets Sale

A huge thank you also goes out to Martin Power and Vicky Nash who have created beautiful mental health awareness bracelets in memory of a dear friend, and in doing so raised £310 for Coventry and Warwickshire Mind. We are truly grateful for the money they raised. These bracelets were designed and made to remind others that there is always someone out there who cares, to bring comfort and send the message that no one should have to face a mental health problem alone. Each bracelet was sold for £5 each, including delivery, with £3 from each sale going to Coventry and Warwickshire Mind. The money they raised will go to our adult services, counselling and one to one support sessions.

We’re proud to be partnering with RED January 2019 this year, helping motivate people to get active every day in January to support their mental health.

RED January is now more inclusive than ever, focusing on getting active, your way. Whether that’s running 5k, walking to work a new way, a morning swim or just taking a bike for a spin – the choice is yours. The aim is to dedicate a bit of time everyday in January to some form of exercise.

If you decide you would like to fundraise for Coventry and Warwickshire Mind this RED January, the proceeds raised will directly impact your local community, whilst giving you the opportunity to build a network of REDers nearby.

You will be able to register to take part with us directly when the local registration for Coventry and Warwickshire opens in November. We’ll be sharing further information shortly. Keep in touch or look out for news and updates via our social media channels.

We’re looking forward to seeing where your RED January journey takes you!

What are you waiting for… Sign up to Red January to feel empowered and to inspire others, beat the January blues with the ultimate challenge! Please email fundraising@cwmind.org.uk for more info and to sign up for free.

Coventry and Warwickshire Mind is proud to announce involvement with the Blue Light Programme.

The Blue Light Programme is a service to provide targeted mental health support to our emergency services staff and volunteers. The project is funded until 31st March 2019.

What is the Blue Light Programme?

We know that one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in any given year. Our independent research shows that the estimated quarter of a million people who work and volunteer in our emergency services are even more at risk of experiencing a mental health problem than the general population, but are less likely to get support.

In an independent survey commissioned by Mind of more than 3,500 blue light personnel, 87.5% said they had experienced stress and poor mental health while working for blue light services and almost half (44%) thought colleagues would be treated less favourably if they disclosed a mental health problem at work. Because of this, Mind launched the Blue Light Programme in March 2015 with the mission of empowering emergency service employers, employees, new recruits and volunteers to promote and support better mental health, both individually and in the workplace.

Emergency service workers do an extremely challenging job day in, day out, frequently encountering traumatic situations. Staff and volunteers will always need support with their mental health, so they can continue responding to people in difficulty. That’s why we want to create lasting change in this sector.

What is available

Information and literature

Service specific literature available from mind.org.uk/bluelight

Blue Light info line: 0300 303 5999, Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm, calls charged at local rates. Text: 84999

1:1s

For those experiencing emotionally difficult times and to support individuals to make positive changes. This could include practical problem solving, self-help strategies, action planning or support to identify more specialist/in-depth services.

Trauma training workshop

Designed for face-to-face delivery to emergency service staff and volunteers who have an interest in learning more about trauma and PTSD, and supporting those who might have experienced trauma. The course isn’t intended to diagnose individuals who are presently experiencing symptoms of trauma or PTSD.

Peer support training

Peer support is about the relationships that people build as they share their own experiences to help and support each other. It is about helping people to recognise and realise their strengths and abilities, acknowledging that people may have problems but these problems do not define them.

Mental health awareness workshop

Delivered in support of the above workshops; to promote mental health and raise awareness of emotional wellbeing

Becoming a Blue Light Champion

An employee or volunteer in the emergency services who takes action in the workplace to raise awareness of mental health and challenge mental health prejudice.

Blue Light staff and volunteers regularly bear witness to traumatic events, and we want to be able to support them with managing their daily mental health needs, and prepare them with knowledge and information should they need future provision.

If you have any further questions, please contact Fatima (fatima.ali@cwmind.org.uk) or Denise (denise.lindsay@cwmind.org.uk).