tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63009456586725123952024-02-21T11:00:51.563+00:00Redditch MHAGRedditch Mental Health Action Group is a voluntary group comprising of individuals and organisations from the town concerned about increasing provision of mental health services, reducing stigma and fund-raising.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-13848048280683617622016-12-21T13:12:00.001+00:002016-12-21T13:12:06.771+00:00Announcement from the chair<div>
Some of you may have heard on the grapevine but I've just sent out an email to our members, which I'm copying here to let you all know I'm standing down as chair of MHAG. It's been a decision that's taken me a long while to come to and not something I've decided lightly, but I feel it's the best decision for myself and for the group as a whole.</div>
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Part of the reason is I've been based in Shropshire for a while now and it's been increasingly difficult to try and run a Redditch-based group from over here. While it's not the other side of the world, running a freelance business and having a toddler are additional complications and it's meant I've often had to turn down meeting requests or opportunities that would have progressed MHAG.</div>
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Secondly, we often joked at the start that MHAG was mine and Beccy's baby but I'm now due my second real baby in the spring so I want to take some time out with my little ones while they're still little!</div>
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I'm very proud to have been associated with the group and to see the way its members, and the wider Redditch community, have embraced mental health and its importance. I will of course still speak up for mental health and tackling stigma at every opportunity, and I hope at one point to be able to rejoin the group!</div>
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Thank you to everyone that's been involved in MHAG up to this point, especially to the working group and Beccy specifically. I've been very lucky to meet so many amazing people through the group, many of whom I hope to remain friends with for a long time to come.</div>
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Wishing you all a merry Christmas,</div>
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Harriet x<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-64908167744077040832016-07-08T09:32:00.000+01:002016-07-08T09:32:02.725+01:00Bridge tragedy<div style="text-align: center;">
I am beyond saddened to hear of another loss of life at the Bromsgrove Highway bridge. Back in 2012 we were involved in trying to campaign for action to be taken there and sadly weren't successful. It was this which led us on to form MHAG the following year. I was asked as chair to provide a comment to the Redditch Standard which appears in today's paper (available online <a href="http://redditchstandard.co.uk/view-edition/?ed_i=80&ed_u=/Redditch/2016/07/08&ed_p=72" target="_blank">here</a>). This is the comment in full:</div>
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Harriet Ernstsons-Evans, chair of the Redditch Mental Health Action Group, said: "It is tragic another incident has happened which could so easily have been avoided had the county council listened years ago when they were warned of the issues at that location.</div>
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"Taking action at the bridge is only part of the solution - but it is an important part. National best practice states locations should be made safer once there have been a number of incidents there and there are examples across the country where action such as caging has reduced the number of lives lost.</div>
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"Alongside this we also need to keep focusing on the provision of mental health services and destigmatising mental health, allowing people to come forward and access help when they need it in a timely and appropriate manner.</div>
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"But while this is happening, the county council need to urgently reverse their decision not to take action at the bridge. How many lives need to be lost before they think it's important enough to consider? There is a financial cost to caging the bridge but there is a very real human cost in terms of the lives lost and the impact on loved ones and witnesses."<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-19995531425994274012016-06-10T09:22:00.003+01:002016-06-10T09:22:56.107+01:00Creating a directory for Redditch<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63ddx0Sqx8ZVHtktgdOh0zQ_Ri7gTfiLnZ3xUxVM8IV9BhccNfNBF1e-9MQQetDSXhjiA749f6_TPC76csw977gEXpHf3sfo6sDfXh5NHclCEs8AbrMBplVUjvuVuzd0v5Wp4Psanrac/s1600/Jigsaw+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63ddx0Sqx8ZVHtktgdOh0zQ_Ri7gTfiLnZ3xUxVM8IV9BhccNfNBF1e-9MQQetDSXhjiA749f6_TPC76csw977gEXpHf3sfo6sDfXh5NHclCEs8AbrMBplVUjvuVuzd0v5Wp4Psanrac/s320/Jigsaw+Logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">HELP is at hand for Redditch residents wanting to try
something new thanks to the creation of a wellbeing directory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Leaders of the Jigsaw Project, run by the Redditch Mental
Health Action Group and Yum Tum Club, are currently putting together the
directory with the aim of printing it later this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is then hoped funding can be secured to enable the
resource to be updated annually.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The six themes of the Jigsaw Project – which aims to bring
together all the aspects of health and wellbeing – are mental health, physical
health, food, creativity, community and relationships.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anything which fits into one or more of the categories, from
a friendship group for older people or a sports club to musical offerings and
educational courses, can be included in the directory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fay Yeng from the Jigsaw Project said: “We want to try and
capture as much information as possible about what’s going on in Redditch, so
residents can pick up a copy and find something which will not only appeal to
them but also enhance their wellbeing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In the coming months we will be contacting as many
organisations as possible to get information about their courses, activities
and meetings to include in the directory. But we would also like to hear from
anyone who thinks their group’s information should be in there.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As well as creating the directory, the Jigsaw Project is all
about bringing together the community to promote the good things which happen
in Redditch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fay added: “We are building a network of support who feel
they need a little lift, something to do or a friend. If we unite together we
can provide hope to people who feel they need some help, whether it be enabling
them to join a group they did not know about previously or access a service
which could give them hope for the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“It is all about improving the ‘mental wealth’ of the town’s
residents – after all, one in four people experience a mental health issue in
any one year and everyone has stresses in their life, so we believe Jigsaw can
make a real difference.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To be featured in the directory, all that is needed is the
name and short description of the activity, location, dates and times plus a
contact name and number. E-mail the information to </span><a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">redditchmhag@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> or call 07788
379389.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like us over on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Jigsaw-Project-1435352443442282/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or follow us on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/redditchjigsaw" target="_blank">Twitter </a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">to join the growing online Jigsaw community, find out about upcoming
events or post about your own.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-17774976192210039952016-05-09T11:50:00.001+01:002016-05-09T11:50:31.613+01:00The Gary and Robert Blues<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;">At MHAG we're thrilled to have always been supported by theatre group Forthright (you may also know them as Jestaminute- and we want to help them as they embark on a crowdfunding project to get their fabulous mental health play The Gary and Robert Blues seen by even more people.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">In their words, the play is</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">"</span><i>A </i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><i>funny, angry and poignant story of one man using his creation of a new stand-up comedy act to find a path through his confused and damaged mind; and reconnect with the world. Trying to understand his own muddled thinking he looks at the irrational way in which society reacts to mental health issues. Inter cut with a blues music soundtrack, this powerful show is a mix of theatre and stand-up. This is the first in a trilogy of plays we are planning tackling different aspects of mental health. </i><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Whilst we are obviously aiming to progress our artistic ambitions; the play is also important as it raises awareness of mental health issues – particularly those relating to men."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">And in the words of their audiences:</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">".....Educational, emotional and very human..........Thought-<wbr></wbr>provoking, myth-busting and highly recommended viewing."</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Laura Hughes Ember Counselling.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">“pertinent and informative”</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Paul Milton, creative director at Everyman Theatre, Gloucester.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">“.....the actor – Stephan Bessant – gave a brilliant performance which offered significant insights into the experience of mental illness for men.......” </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">. Pam Morley, senior lecturer, Mental Health Division, Birmingham City University <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">To pledge your help or find out more, visit <a href="http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/forthright-gary/" target="_blank">www.crowdfunder.co.uk/forthright-gary/</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">And for their Facebook page, visit </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.facebook.com/Forthright-997121107098344/?fref%3Dts&source=gmail&ust=1462877039374000&usg=AFQjCNGW1HbftSTQsmJaYWcXfTD3E6w9OA" href="https://www.facebook.com/Forthright-997121107098344/?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://www.facebook.com/</span><wbr></wbr>Forthright-997121107098344/?<wbr></wbr>fref=ts</span></a></div>
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Thank you!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-68373513510412236322016-04-15T16:32:00.003+01:002016-04-15T16:32:55.237+01:00Mental Health Appeal<div style="text-align: center;">
At MHAG, we're huge fans of comedienne/counsellor Sheila McMahon who first came to our attention at the comedy Ship O Fools night at the Palace Theatre a couple of years back. She's since brought her own show Sheila's Mental Health Show to the Palace earlier this year and this week she's launched her new appeal. The video explains what it's all about but essentially she's enlisted the help of Sister Mary to take part in a tandem hang-glide to raise money for an online resource to help people with mental health issues. It's a much-needed project and hats off to anyone afraid to face a fear of heights in such a dramatic way to raise cash! If you can spare a few pennies to help Sheila reach her goal then please do, but perhaps more importantly please share the video so even more people get to hear about it!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-64511215069501109132016-03-21T16:20:00.004+00:002016-03-21T16:20:57.964+00:00What's happening at our Easter Monday community barbecue?<div style="text-align: center;">
It's just a week now until the community barbecue at the Old Needleworks and there's lots of work going on behind the scenes to ensure the event is a success.</div>
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So far confirmed we have the food obviously (it will all be food which boosts your mood and makes you feel fab, so hopefully you'll go home with some new recipes ideas!), drumming, a children's dance workshop, the labyrinth (which was funded by MHAG last year), the opportunity to watch jewellery being made plus some opportunities to get creative and think about your own 'mental wealth'.</div>
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To give you even more information, here's a copy of the press release we've sent out to the papers today:</div>
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VOLUNTEERS are hoping their event will sizzle as they host a barbecue with a difference to promote the power of community spirit.<br />Yum Tum Club and the Redditch Mental Health Action Group have joined forces to create the Jigsaw Project, aimed at getting more organisations working together in Redditch for the benefit of residents' health.<br />The project is set to highlight activities, courses and meetings on social media, as well as creating a printed directory later this year to inform residents what is going on within the town.<br />To launch the Jigsaw, a community barbecue will run from 12pm to 3pm on Easter Monday (March 28) at the Old Needleworks on Britten Street. Anyone is welcome to the free event, with representatives from any organisation invited to bring along leaflets or other information to share.<br />A holistic approach to wellbeing will be promoted by encouraging guests to get involved in activities such as drumming, a children's dance workshop and other 'feel good' activities, with the food being slightly different from normal barbecue food in that the menu has been designed to promote 'improving your food mood' acknowledging the link between eating and mental health.<br />Fay Yeng from Yum Tum Club said: "The idea of the Jigsaw Project is to bring people together, so what better way to launch it than to host a 'happy food' barbecue creating a platform to talk freely about 'mental wealth'.<br />"During the project, we hope to show how all aspects of health including mental health and healthy eating fit together like a jigsaw to form an overall picture."<br />The event has been funded thanks a Redditch Borough Council grant awarded to co-organiser Sue Yeng and there will be opportunities to donate to MHAG or the Jigsaw Project during the day.<br />To find out more, e-mail <a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com">redditchmhag@gmail.com</a> or call 07788 379389. Find the project by searching 'The Jigsaw Project' on Facebook or @redditchjigsaw on Twitter. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-74335558100931607492016-03-17T13:03:00.003+00:002016-03-17T13:03:59.043+00:00Community barbecue<div style="text-align: center;">
If you've read our last post (<a href="http://redditchmhag.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/the-jigsaw-project.html" target="_blank">here</a>), you'll know the Jigsaw Project is now up and running. To celebrate, we're hosting a community barbecue on Easter Monday. Do come along if you want to try some food, perhaps some activities and have a chat! Let your friends, colleagues and family know and feel free to bring along information about any groups, activities, courses or events you're running.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-91865192183026893782016-03-14T14:34:00.002+00:002016-03-14T14:34:42.761+00:00The Jigsaw Project<div style="text-align: center;">
If you've been around at MHAG meetings or on social media/e-mails, you may have heard us talking about the Jigsaw Project. The good news is it is now firmly up and running (it's been going on in the background but we're really giving it a push now!) but what is it?</div>
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<strong>Who's involved?</strong></div>
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The Jigsaw Project is the brainchild of Harriet from MHAG and Fay from Yum Tum who wanted to find a way of combining their passions for mental health and food!</div>
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<strong>What is it?</strong></div>
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It's a project aimed at engaging everyone in the community and promoting what's already going on and anything new which starts up. The idea behind the name is that all aspects of community and health slot together in a 'jigsaw' - so healthy eating, mental health etc. Whether it's a one-off activity, a group which meets every week or a course, share it with us and we'll share it with everyone. We're sharing what's going on through social media but any longer-term projects will also be promoted through a printed directory to be distributed across the town.</div>
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<strong>How do we get in touch?</strong></div>
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E-mail us via at <a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com">redditchmhag</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com"></a><a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com"><a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com">@gmail.com</a></a></a></div>
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Call Harriet on 07788 379389</div>
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Like 'The Jigsaw Project' on Facebook and message us or get sharing your group/activity on our wall.</div>
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<strong>Anything else?</strong></div>
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There will be events associated with the Jigsaw Project going on within Redditch so keep an eye out for more details on those!</div>
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Thanks,</div>
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Harriet and Fay</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-70437143064764339632016-02-16T18:16:00.000+00:002016-02-16T18:16:00.898+00:00In The Mind - BBC<div style="text-align: center;">
It's great to see the BBC doing a season of shows dedicated to mental health as of yesterday (Monday, February 15). First up was The Not So Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive, a follow up ten years on from Stephen Fry's first programme about his mental health issues.</div>
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The show is available to see on catch up on the BBC online and is well worth a watch for anyone interested in mental health - which, let's be honest should be everyone! It not only tracks Stephen's condition since the initial show, but also catches up with Cordelia who featured in 2006 and explores the stories of others diagnosed with bipolar.</div>
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One of the people featured was Alika, who was bullied online after a clip was filmed of him singing on the Tube during a manic episode. After a suicide attempt and time in a psychiatric unit, Alika now travels to schools to educate them about the condition. During a chat with some of the students at a particular school, they spoke about how a friend had committed suicide and - whilst they were all keen to speak about it - adults around them encouraged silence. This showed whilst there are still negative attitudes around mental health and suicide, actually people do want to talk about it and perhaps young people are even more willing to chat than those of older generations.</div>
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A comment from one of the students was particular poignant, she remarked that in the same way your body could be broken, your mind could be too.</div>
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Visit rachelholly90.wordpress.com to take a look at the blog of one of the people featured on the programme, who jumped from a 50ft balcony and was left paralysed due to her condition.</div>
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The 'In The Mind' season continues for the next two weeks including a series of special reports on BBC News at Six and News at Ten. A second documentary will air tonight (Tuesday) following the lives of two mothers who experienced postpartum psychosis. My Baby, Psychosis and Me starts at 10.45pm on BBC One.</div>
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Then tomorrow you can see a repeat of Life After Suicide, also at 10.45pm, followed by Professor Green: Suicide and Me at 11.45pm on Thursday.</div>
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Let us know what you think of any of the programmes mentioned on Facebook or Twitter (search Redditch Mental Health Action Group or @redditchmhag on Twitter).</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-5071673380908042622016-01-24T21:41:00.002+00:002016-01-24T21:41:42.110+00:00Sheila's M.H.S. Mental Health Show<div style="text-align: center;">
A comment from chair Rebecca about the upcoming Mental Health Show at the Palace Theatre:<br /><br />"Whether it's speaking to people with mental illness, family and friends affected by it or those working in mental health, we're convinced more must be done to focus on improving mental wellbeing.<br /><br />"Across Worcestershire we are very concerned about higher than national average rates of depression, self harm and suicide. At the same time funding is being reduced and services are being cut.<br /><br />"For the last three years the Redditch Mental Health Action Group has been committed to bringing interested parties together who are seeking to improve existing services, create further support and tackle stigma. <br /><br />"Sheila McMahon gave her support to Redditch MHAG in 2014 through her hilarious yet poignant stand up act at the Redditch Palace Theatre. We are delighted to see her return next month with her very own Mental Health Show. We know from the success of past performances in Redditch, the arts are an essential route to helping people better understand mental illness and to get people openly discussing their own mental health. Not only are we looking forward to seeing Sheila's Mental Health Show, we are delighted that she is eager to promote Redditch MHAG too!"</div>
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<strong>The night starts at 7.45pm on Saturday, February 6, in the Room Upstairs at Redditch Palace Theatre. It promises to be great for all attending!</strong></div>
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<a href="http://www.redditchpalacetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/sheilas-m-h-s-mental-health-show/" target="_blank">Buy tickets or find out more here.</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-11599398217657376132015-05-13T16:35:00.004+01:002015-05-13T16:35:53.338+01:00Two years of MHAG<div style="text-align: center;">
Our second year is now coming to a close and as a result we're set to host our annual general meeting at the end of May. If you haven't been along to the group before, it's a great way to find out what we've been up to since last May and what we hope to achieve in the upcoming year. If you have then hopefully you'll join us again for all the updates!</div>
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Thursday, May 28</div>
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7pm</div>
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Redditch Town Hall</div>
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MHAG AGM</div>
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Including: election of officers and allocation of mayoral money (if you have any proposals about how the money we receive from Mayor Pat Witherspoon should be spent please come along and share them!)</div>
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Any questions? Feel free to e-mail <a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com">redditchmhag</a><a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.ocm">@gmail.com</a> although please be aware there may be a delay in responding due to our volunteer availability at the moment.</div>
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Thanks!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-61178194098227255632015-04-28T13:55:00.000+01:002015-04-28T13:55:28.707+01:00Mayoral handoverThings have been very quiet in MHAG land at the moment although all our members are still busy working away on their individuals projects and within their organisations, which is great. It remains to be seen what direction the group will take and that may not be clear for a number of months, mostly due to big 'life things' going on which have had to take priority (not as ominous as it sounds!). But one thing we're very pleased to announce is that next month we'll be going to the official handover of the charity money raised by Mayor Pat Witherspoon during her civic year.<br />
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We are hugely grateful for all the work done by Pat, it goes way above and beyond what anyone could expect of the mayor and we know this is because mental health (and dementia which is where the other half of her funds are going) are causes really close to her heart. It's been great having her support and we know that won't stop when she hands over the mayoral chains in May.<br />
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An e-mail has been sent out to our contacts today as we'd like to see some of the group coming along to enjoy the occasion with us. If you haven't got the e-mail and you'd like to come along please e-mail <a href="mailto:redditchmhag@gmail.com">redditchmhag</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">@gmail.com</a> or call 07788 379389 before Monday, May 11.<br />
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Thanks!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-46001578581344589302015-01-08T14:29:00.003+00:002015-01-08T14:29:52.548+00:00Let's get quizzical<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig77XjhmQjEFM7Q_6o-APuW5vH_3xlc7Qm8vzLMQJCnWw9kvP1AToGLbBroj2BhTHCxPkFLBidseReeThVtZhExa583srRHD-upwXi4CIG0BVKBhzUF4GXgPyE_XqOEo_82LJSu_2vtds/s1600/1013359_251325738354606_5489033_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig77XjhmQjEFM7Q_6o-APuW5vH_3xlc7Qm8vzLMQJCnWw9kvP1AToGLbBroj2BhTHCxPkFLBidseReeThVtZhExa583srRHD-upwXi4CIG0BVKBhzUF4GXgPyE_XqOEo_82LJSu_2vtds/s1600/1013359_251325738354606_5489033_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Some of the teams hard at work at our last quiz!</span> </div>
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Our last quiz back in October 2013 was great fun and raise some much-appreciated pennies for MHAG! People have been asking when we'll be doing another so we're very excited to announce we'll be hosting a quiz on Friday, March 6. Details are as follows!</div>
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Redditch Rugby Club, Bromsgrove Road.</div>
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7pm for a 7.30pm start.</div>
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Bar open and nibbles available.</div>
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Kindly hosted by mayor Pat Witherspoon.</div>
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£2 a person and up to six a team.</div>
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Prizes for winners, losers and best team name.</div>
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Raffle in the interval.</div>
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All money will go to MHAG.</div>
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Hope to see you there! Let us know you're coming on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/922928457726259/?fref=ts" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-5662324377290514132015-01-06T15:02:00.001+00:002015-01-06T15:02:09.319+00:00Mental health first aid<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This month we'll be taking part in a two-day mental health first aid course to learn more about identifying, understanding and helping those who may have a developing problem. The course is essentially the mental health equivalent of a more traditional first aid course in that it can help you recognise the warning signs of ill health.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The course was developed in Australia in 2000 and is now taught in 23 countries, having been delivered to over 77,000 people by 1,000 instructors in England. They also now offer in-house training directly to large organisations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For more information, click <a href="http://mhfaengland.org/" target="_blank">here</a> and we'll update you on how it all went later in the month!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-81077706174203331782015-01-05T14:14:00.001+00:002015-01-05T14:14:20.210+00:00Have your say during the CQC inspection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is a great opportunity to get your voice heard about mental health care in Worcestershire, so do pop along if you can! Make sure to let them know you're attending using the details below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-16960527075505935832015-01-02T15:12:00.001+00:002015-01-02T15:12:43.123+00:00Funding for mental health<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Before Christmas, Rethink Mental Illness ran a campaign to stop Monitor (the watchdog for health funding) with its plan to cut mental health budgets next year. A total of 6,703 people including MHAG signed before the consultation ended at midnight on Christmas Eve so a response is imminent. In good news, due to the campaigning of Rethink and others NHS England has now told local health commissioners they need to increase in real terms the amount they spend next year on mental health.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group have decided to cut their spending on mental health from eight per cent of the budget to just seven per cent by the next financial year (2015/16), whilst because of their overall increase in budget this means around an extra £500,000 will go to mental health. But if they had kept it at eight per cent, there would have been a £1.5million increase so really we're losing out on £1million! In total £14million is spent on mental health while the rest of their £187.2million goes towards physical health. You can read more about this in a story I wrote for the Redditch Standard <a href="http://www.redditchstandard.co.uk/2014/10/31/news-Spend-on-mental-health-just-7-per-cent-119907.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is hugely important for us all to fight for better funding for mental health - we all know everything is being squeezed from all aspects of the public sector and there is simply less money to go round. But it is well documented times of austerity breed mental health issues so there are now more people than ever struggling, so we simply cannot let them go without. The link between physical and mental health has also been proven so effectively, putting money into mental health can only help with the pressure on the entire system.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.rethink.org/" target="_blank">Visit Rethink's website here</a>. </span></span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-75834407524169088172014-12-31T15:20:00.000+00:002014-12-31T15:20:00.260+00:00Happy New Year!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's traditional to wish everyone health and happiness for New Year - that may seem laughable when we're talking about mental health and some very unwell and unhappy people. So my seasonal offering to you is I wish you progress - whether that's stepping one foot outside your front in 2015, whether that's finally accepting there's something wrong and going to see your doctor about it or whether that's moving through the recovery process and 'living well with mental health'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy New Year x</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-65875231442541396762014-12-30T10:23:00.001+00:002014-12-30T10:23:11.967+00:00Most read posts of 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
Towards the end of 2014 we have been trying to provide you with blog posts much more frequently to let you know what we're doing at MHAG and discuss all things mental health. That's definitely something we'll be doing more of in 2015! But for now here's our three best-read blog posts of 2014 in case you missed them first time round:<br /><br /><a href="http://redditchmhag.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/living-with-anxiety.html" target="_blank">1. LIVING WITH ANXIETY</a></div>
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<a href="http://redditchmhag.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/thank-you-hillcrest.html" target="_blank">2. THANK YOU HILLCREST</a></div>
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<a href="http://redditchmhag.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/pride-of-redditch.html" target="_blank">3. PRIDE OF REDDITCH</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-83461432653128401042014-12-29T15:17:00.002+00:002014-12-29T15:17:38.246+00:00My mental health New Year's resolutions<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's the time of year now, with all the indulgence of Christmas pretty much over, when people start thinking about their New Year's resolutions. There's always the standard ones of shifting a few pounds, joining a gym, stopping smoking etc. and I'm sure I'll pledge to do a few things myself, forget about them and then bemoan my lack of progress in November/December 2015! But one thing I can be sure of is my continued dedication to the mental health cause, so to that end I've put together a list of eight resolutions:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>My mental health New Year's Resolutions:</b><br /><br />1. Not ever feel worried about sharing my mental health story - it could potentially help people to know about it whereas no one will benefit if I remain silent.<br />2. Continue pushing MHAG's aims of tackling stigma, promoting services and pushing for better services.<br />3. Speak up whenever I see mental health not being treated as importantly as physical health.<br />4. Look out for those who could be struggling from mental health issues, even if they are hidden, and act where I can to alleviate those issues.<br />5. Recognise the symptoms of my own mental health issues and act more quickly if they start worsening.<br />6. Read as much as I can about developments in law, treatments and charity campaigns.<br />7. Plan a fund-raising challenge in aid of MHAG.<br />8. Finish editing my journal about my experience of recovery.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-56252014703339230292014-12-21T09:55:00.001+00:002014-12-21T09:55:30.193+00:00Merry Christmas!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm now taking off a few days over Christmas to recharge my batteries and get ready for all 2015 has in store! I'm very excited about the possibilities in the coming year and where we could be by the time Christmas 2015 approaches. In the meantime I'd like to send each and every one of you warm wishes - although life with a mental health issue is never easy and can be particularly tough over what is meant to be the 'most wonderful time of the year', I hope all of you find the strength to make it through and that with the help of all the fantastic organisations who work within Redditch, a stable, supported and perhaps even enjoyable 2015 is in store for all of you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For now, I'll leave you with a few dates for your diary:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>January 7</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> </strong>- Care Quality Commission drop in session to share experiences of using the Worcestershire Health and Care Trust. Town Hall. </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">6.30pm to 8.30pm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Please contact </span></div>
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<a href="mailto:admin@healthwatchworcestershire.co.uk"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">admin@healthwatchworcestershire.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> or 01386 550264 to book a place.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>January 20</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> </strong>- Jigsaw project initial meetings with interested organisations. Town Hall. </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1pm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> or </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">7pm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>January 29</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> </strong>- MHAG monthly meeting. Town Hall. </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">7pm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>February 26</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> </strong>- MHAG monthly meeting. As before.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>February 27</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> </strong>- joint MHAG and Macmillan Cancer Support quiz. Town Hall. </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">7pm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Contact us for £2 tickets.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>March 14</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> - Spring Fling ball at Studley Castle.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Every MHAG monthly meeting will be on the last Thursday of a month other than March when it will be the 19th and December when it will be the 17th.</span></strong></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-73788365875033271202014-12-19T08:32:00.001+00:002014-12-19T08:32:36.163+00:00The MHAG Christmas speechA rough copy of what was said last night at MHAG's Christmas meeting:<div><br></div><div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0dD-r6JRY-m7wd3EUdutQ5qa1wTdpeYNrVduGV_mICOy5g0RRmCl56R1zsIYlLPSyaL9-vWTHpUoqYL85-54Nc8o1Xsq25noUMvRBKaci_fshfj8TMP5w_GZvrFidKzFlvG3oS6y88k/s640/blogger-image-1938525858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0dD-r6JRY-m7wd3EUdutQ5qa1wTdpeYNrVduGV_mICOy5g0RRmCl56R1zsIYlLPSyaL9-vWTHpUoqYL85-54Nc8o1Xsq25noUMvRBKaci_fshfj8TMP5w_GZvrFidKzFlvG3oS6y88k/s640/blogger-image-1938525858.jpg"></a></div> </span><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It seems like it's been an absolute lifetime since I was sat here in front of you at our Christmas 2013 meeting talking about everything we'd achieved in the months previously since we began in May that year. I like to think 2014 was the year which will lay the foundations for MHAG making an impact on residents struggling with their mental health in years to come.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We have so many projects in various stages of planning which I genuinely believe will make a difference in this town. We talk about the projects at every MHAG meeting and you also get regular updates if you're on our email circulation list so I won't go into then too much except to extend my absolute thanks to our teams – specifically Neil, Elaine, Beth and Andrea for the mentoring project, Fay for the jigsaw project and Sarah, Helen and Pam for the signposting project - but I do just want to go through a whistle-stop tour of everything MHAG has been doing this year. It might be a little bit naval-gazing but I think it's important for us to do at least twice a year (at Christmas and at our AGM) but this is a much more informal way of doing it than at the MHAG and also will hopefully fill us with a lovely warm glowy feeling just before Christmas!</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Having looked back through my diary for the year, the very first thing I did with MHAG this year was <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://0" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0">on January 3</a>, a meeting with Elaine and Neil about what was to become the highly-successful mentoring project. The first event we attended was the LGBT awareness event at Redditch Library <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://1" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1">on February 1</a> and the first event we actually co-ordinated was the Valentine's Ball which all who attended seemed to really enjoy – so much so we are hosting another ball in 2015, although this time the theme will be spring. We did a couple of walks in spring as preparation of our Three Peaks challenge – this is something we are still really keen to do but we decided attempting to do it this year with little training would have been very silly and next year is so busy for both myself and Beccy that we think 2016 is going to be our year! My motto very much is if you're going to do something, do it properly so I hope to be putting together a training programme for 2015 so we can ensure we have the best possible chance of completing the event in 2016.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Personally I had a little bit of an MHAG lull in late spring to early summer while I was trying out the mental health services in Redditch for myself (Beccy kept calling it an MHAG field trip every time we went to a new service!) - but rather than dwell on the bad experience I like to think it's pushed me to make MHAG as great as possible and to ensure we are working as hard as we can for anyone else who is in the same position I was.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In July, Beccy spoke to Disability Action Redditch about the work we do. I think it's great so many other organisations in Redditch are interested in what we do and want to find out more! We have such strong links with so many group and that's something we really hope to continue going forward. Of course we have had speakers at our monthly meetings too including Dr Tim Lee who spoke about what the CCG are doing. We had the huge honour of being made one of the mayor's charities for 2014/15 and I'm sure we'll all agree the work Pat Witherspoon is doing to highlight mental health and dementia during her mayoral year is fantastic. As part of that there was the comedy night at the Palace Theatre which was hilarious and struck just the right note between lots of laughs and being thought-provoking. As part of our connection with the Alzheimer's Society, the other mayoral charity, we got to take part in their dementia friendly community walk at Arrow Valley Lake which was a great experience.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Fast forward to October to our second Wellbeing Week – it started with a poetry night which went better than any of us could have expected with over 30 attendees and lots of people getting up on stage during the open mic part of the night – as well as the scheduled speakers - which was very powerful. Our two-day advice shop at the Kingfisher Centre was also a great success and it was great this year that we were able to include an element of interactivity with food making, face painting, colouring and other activities providing a chance for the kids to get involved while we chatted to their parents.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We launched our pledge which is doing well online and in print and then the week after that Mary's support group and some of the MHAG members had the chance to speak to Luciana Berger, shadow minister for public health which includes mental health, during her visit to Redditch. More recently we attended the Pride event at Heart of Worcestershire College and hosted an evening about the mentoring event which I hear went very well! All this alongside the mentoring pilot and setting up the jigsaw and signposting projects – and meeting the movers and shakers as Neil would call them - and I think it's safe to say we are starting to make a real impact in the borough.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But whilst I can look through my diary and detail the events we've hosted and attended, the meetings we've been at and the influential people we've reached out to – what I can't measure is the stigma we've helped dispell. Our last speaker of the year Laney Walsh spoke about Redditch being a progressive town where we were doing more than most to tackle mental health stigma. I couldn't agree more. I really relish the fact it's quite normal for people to see us out and about in our MHAG t-shirts or for us all to be regularly starting conversations about mental health. That was the entire aim of MHAG – if one person feels more comfortable talking about their illness then we have made a splash and we can be hugely proud collectively that we've come together in our spare time to make that happen.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">What I also can't measure is what you've all done for me personally. There is no possible way for me to tell you all how much you've changed my life and how much being a part of something as great as MHAG kept me going through some pretty bad times. During our very first meeting last May I was overwhelmed by the fact people were willing to come and share their stories with us and I'll let you into a little secret – sometimes (very occasionally) I fall silent for a bit during each meeting and that's when I'm looking around thinking how absolutely wonderful all of you are and how proud I am to call you all not only my fellow MHAG members but also my friends. I don't need to tell you all mental health is a dark, scary, lonely and terrifying place but having such a wonderful support network around me helped get me through my journey and turn everything around for me. I try not to single individuals out in my little speeches as no doubt I will forget someone and cause offence – and she will have a go at me later for doing this – but I do want to especially thank Beccy. She'll be rolling her eyes at this point and trying to claim she's done nothing! We often talking about breaking down closed doors when it comes to stigma and all of you do that every day but the lady on my right physically broke down my door to get to me (on her birthday of all days) when I was at my lowest point and had given up on staying alive. She won't ever tell you she did that but I think people should know – firstly so that you can marvel at how strong she is! And secondly because it shows the impact MHAG said. I would be dead if MHAG hadn't happened.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So at this point I'll end this speech because there's refreshments to enjoy but I just can't thank you all enough and we continue breaking down doors – hopefully metaphorically not physically – for a long time yet.</span></p></div><div><br></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-53739240282489938272014-12-17T15:42:00.001+00:002014-12-17T15:42:26.715+00:00Functioning with a mental health illness<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The more I get into the world of mental health the more I become convinced most people broadly fit into one of two categories: non-functioning or functioning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The first group is the one which probably receives the most attention and there is the most awareness around - it's the group who may not be able to work because of their mental health issues, they may be unable to hold down a relationship or any regular commitment such as volunteering, they withdraw almost completely from society due to the impact of their illness. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But there is also another huge group of people who are what I've come to term 'functioning' because far from withdrawing, they seem to become more involved the more impact their health has on them. I have definitely always been in this bracket and I think that makes it much harder for others to see there is a mental health issue present or to understand it once it does emerge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">When your life's so full anyway and then you take on more and more in an attempt to mask your illness, it becomes your way of living that you pile more and more into your schedule and limit the amount of time you actually have to sit down on your own and confront the fact you're poorly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">People kept telling me 'you'll make yourself ill with all this work' but they didn't realise I was actually already ill and using that to mask it. When I was eventually admitted on to the ward, it was almost a relief to grind to a complete stop and do nothing. It was also a shock to the system to do a complete 180.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I feel whilst any stigma-reducing or awareness-increasing around mental health is valuable, we need to start thinking more about both groups of people. Yes it's important to look at the 'non-functioning' group and how to get them more involved in society but we also need to be aware of the huge numbers of people who from the outside might look alright - with a job, home, stable relationships etc - but in reality are struggling under the huge weight of the burden of mental illness.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl4XZeGYfE8oI2gmKqOd1zYpN3OxlaJZ7lJEJt0bQ-knRdYZXOlNCqxDbUGNk8xjQjoaftONIL96_m88brFFkLd28NwcRozLbqfF09_sduD0jLWja2V6gt0xpEV1_Ln_xXhB3sn447kY/s640/blogger-image-703237423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl4XZeGYfE8oI2gmKqOd1zYpN3OxlaJZ7lJEJt0bQ-knRdYZXOlNCqxDbUGNk8xjQjoaftONIL96_m88brFFkLd28NwcRozLbqfF09_sduD0jLWja2V6gt0xpEV1_Ln_xXhB3sn447kY/s640/blogger-image-703237423.jpg"></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-14417816721573402502014-12-15T21:04:00.001+00:002014-12-15T21:04:40.135+00:00Round Table Christmas collection<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19tpYxg4T-w4memRP66E80HnrbTeNkf5tvfdxQXlnWV6NsYoapnf3udTPfesmUhrbgszKuMOdTOzI0WK8XouJlGSahd9zu_938SYltQPSViI3t8XSYxM9dQdCx4KQd9j6gE0ktgEi2Cc/s640/blogger-image--1450142377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19tpYxg4T-w4memRP66E80HnrbTeNkf5tvfdxQXlnWV6NsYoapnf3udTPfesmUhrbgszKuMOdTOzI0WK8XouJlGSahd9zu_938SYltQPSViI3t8XSYxM9dQdCx4KQd9j6gE0ktgEi2Cc/s640/blogger-image--1450142377.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div>Tonight a group of us went out with Redditch Round Table as part of their Christmas collection. As experiences go, it was pretty surreal! We were all dressed as snowmen accompanying Santa and his sleigh around the streets of Brockhill.<div><br></div><div>But firstly it was an amazing way to get into the Christmas spirit - what could be more heart-warming than seeing children's faces light up as Santa comes into view waving at them! And of course the main reason we were there - to raise money for charity. It was ourselves and Redditch Heart Safe who were volunteering tonight but the members of the Round Table are making their way round most the areas in the town with various charities in the run-up to Christmas. Well done to all those involved! What a great event! And thank you so much to all our volunteers who came along!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijy7MlCIGrCs9Aaro03v7shHKs4-N3FtdytBaNO0VmjjZSJnU8DehJSmF0dx3g0Lta2EbbIV6odpLbzKERz3Ak3_2mRFRlW2CY_QDIOPBrSow2WSN61XJ2cJiOT6J8g2O3tp43HnJosc0/s640/blogger-image--362999339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijy7MlCIGrCs9Aaro03v7shHKs4-N3FtdytBaNO0VmjjZSJnU8DehJSmF0dx3g0Lta2EbbIV6odpLbzKERz3Ak3_2mRFRlW2CY_QDIOPBrSow2WSN61XJ2cJiOT6J8g2O3tp43HnJosc0/s640/blogger-image--362999339.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-13567794994540339522014-12-13T18:51:00.001+00:002014-12-13T18:51:44.172+00:00Pride of Redditch<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Last night I was thrilled to receive a Pride of Redditch award for the second year running. The reason I'm sharing this with you is I feel each of our MHAG members deserve a little piece of this too, so whilst I'm not going to start snapping them into little pieces and throwing them into the audience like Cady in Mean Girls I do want to thank each and every person who's ever supported my little charity group.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It started out as a discussion in a pub between myself and Beccy. We wondered if we could get some like-minded people together to talk about mental health. Less than two years later and I now have two shiny certificates to symbolise how far the group has come.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But more than that, I have an amazing set of new friends who I love dearly, MHAG is recognised in the county by most of the statutory services and is supported heavily by the voluntary sector. People are starting to know the group's name, who we are and what we do. People are starting to know they can turn to us if they need help. We are making a real difference.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All of this means the world to me. I can never put into words how important MHAG is to me and how proud I am to be associated with all the amazing people the group has attracted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So thank you MHAG - these are for you!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o0L3uCXR-SI0MZPx1k7d_S6pN7Err6vMrnVs6Pq6jYmIvh-nNVTtTjsa7yRY_KMsfE0FTk14FgdAL_zalJOsWpB60T6rYlYxS2zYB16tlT9DJOkwBrzbggylIO4vHgEKGleBkyghkcE/s640/blogger-image-1679665352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o0L3uCXR-SI0MZPx1k7d_S6pN7Err6vMrnVs6Pq6jYmIvh-nNVTtTjsa7yRY_KMsfE0FTk14FgdAL_zalJOsWpB60T6rYlYxS2zYB16tlT9DJOkwBrzbggylIO4vHgEKGleBkyghkcE/s640/blogger-image-1679665352.jpg"></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300945658672512395.post-88150622215305844182014-12-11T20:42:00.001+00:002014-12-11T20:42:34.328+00:00Christmas with MHAG<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheE1B-5IHcGOCELDsYVgc73M7hL3oeXG-ILLmilKvrIHQHDoGX0g2YX9xVyFmqpbInwwomHGjPWxe4dbWCYmKZ0t3GqKdZ6VTC4Ol29XL5TVu4CjQguUERQ7Z7gwPsmQ2DCkf-V5_ZEQE/s640/blogger-image--1539963794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheE1B-5IHcGOCELDsYVgc73M7hL3oeXG-ILLmilKvrIHQHDoGX0g2YX9xVyFmqpbInwwomHGjPWxe4dbWCYmKZ0t3GqKdZ6VTC4Ol29XL5TVu4CjQguUERQ7Z7gwPsmQ2DCkf-V5_ZEQE/s640/blogger-image--1539963794.jpg"></a>Just a quick reminder of all we have going in the coming week:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Saturday and Sunday (13th and 14th): Christmas support information sessions</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Redditch town centre - 10.30am to 2.30pm both days.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Monday (15th):</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Redditch Round Table</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Brockhill - 5pm onwards.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Why not join us for the evening helping the Round Table collect for extremely worthwhile charities across the town? Email redditchmhag@gmail.com or call <a href="tel:07788%20379389" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="1">07788 379389</a> to get involved.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Thursday (18th):</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">MHAG Christmas event</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Town Hall - 7pm.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Mince pie and mental health combine as we look back over 2014, look ahead to next year and enjoy some refreshments.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Hope to see as many of you as possible during our last three events of 2014!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10576235883101137549noreply@blogger.com0