This year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is focused on “mental health for all” and we are proud to be part of a community that supports and values employees’ mental health. Buckinghamshire Mind will be posting a free video providing top tips for starting a conversation about mental health.

Buckinghamshire Business First Members and Charities supporting their employees and the wider community.

Chandler Garvey

Buckinghamshire Business First Ambassador member Chandler Garvey have, like other businesses locally, invested time in developing support for employee mental health.

Managing Director, Michael Garvey said:

“Workplace well-being is high on the agenda of every successful business, with senior management teams recognising that there is a direct link between staff well-being and productivity. This doesn't mean that being thoughtful about the well-being of the team is just driven by profit, but it makes doing the right thing profoundly easy and rewarding. Chandler Garvey has worked hard in recent years to be more thoughtful about issues affecting mental health and how they support staff members through the challenges of everyday life, heightened of course recently by Covid. This has included access to mental health professionals, a range of online resources and an acceptance that awareness can go a long way to tackling what has historically been a stigma that has stopped people speaking openly about the subject.”

Lindengate Mental Health Charity offer opportunity to Rest and Reflect in Wendover

BBF Partner member Lindengate continues to promote mental wellbeing for everyone. During the past 4 months, Lindengate has opened its doors as part of its Rest & Reflect programme, supporting anyone who has been struggling with their mental wellbeing. To date, they have welcomed nearly 1,000 people.

As the nights start drawing in and the temperatures drop, now is the time to stop for a moment and think about your own wellbeing. Finding time to give yourself space can be difficult in the best of weather, but in Winter, the challenge becomes even greater.

There are many benefits to spending just a few minutes a day outdoors. Here are a few of them:

• 15 minutes outdoors every day can improve both our moods and our physical health, leading to reduced stress and increased self-esteem
• Builds our immune system, as the cold weather actually kills off bacteria.
• With the current restrictions in place, we can meet up with a friend, which will improve our mental wellbeing, through social interaction.

Lindengate will be continuing this support over the Winter, to ensure that their therapeutic gardens and wildlife haven are accessible to anyone who needs it. Rest & Reflect will be open on Tuesday/Friday/Saturday 1-4pm.

They have plenty of sheltered areas dotted about their 5-acre site and space to meet with a friend for a chat or to bring a book and enjoy the peace, amongst the wildlife. This space is not normally open to all so take the opportunity while you can for a moment of rest and reflection.

Buckinghamshire Mind participating in a range of activities to highlight World Mental Health Day

Buckinghamshire Mind has a series of activities planned to benefit different people within the community. For example, Buckinghamshire Mind will be supporting the mental health of children and young people by offering a free mental health education assembly to all schools who take part in #MuftiforBucksMind on Friday 9th October.

Andrea McCubbin, Chief Executive for Buckinghamshire Mind, said:

“The response from schools to Mufti for Bucks Mind has been overwhelming, which shows their commitment to the mental health of their students. The pandemic has already had a devastating impact on the lives of millions of children across the country. It’s good that, for many, a return to school may mark something of a return to normality. However, we recognise that this is a hugely challenging time for everybody in the school community, from children to parents, teachers and support staff. We are delighted to be able to help by offering free mental health awareness assemblies.”

In addition:

• The charity’s Friends in Need peer support group will also be hosting a Virtual Mental Wellbeing Fayre on Zoom.

• Users of the charity’s Older Adults Service, for people living with dementia and memory loss, will be provided with a video encouraging service users and their families to have meaningful conversations with the aim to promote inclusivity.

• Buckinghamshire Mind’s Wellbeing Groups will be encouraged to explore how everyone has mental health and their own experiences of mental health issues through creative writing, art and quizzes.

• The charity will be holding a volunteer development session on World Mental Health Day, which will include the topics of inclusivity and diversity.

Workplace wellbeing

With many employees working remotely, it is important to keep communication channels open and let your team know that they can talk about any issue they may be facing.

You can find further resources to support you and your employees in our workplace wellbeing hub with signposting to experts such as Mind, and Time to Change. These resources cover useful tips to help improve mental wellbeing and employee support through dialogue and open communication, as well as legal rights for employees and HSE guidance for HR teams.

We often also offer training and support focused on mental health and wellbeing for employees in partnership with Healthy Minds Employment Service, keep an eye on our events programme for upcoming events and take a look at an article they wrote on how kindness in the workplace can help those with mental health challenges here >