Wednesday, December 21

Announcement from the chair

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas,
Harriet x