Grosvenor Shopping Northampton and Northamptonshire Mind have teamed up to mark Mental Health Awareness Week and the beginning of an ongoing collaboration.
The national awareness week, which runs from Monday 10th May to Saturday 16th May, is one of the biggest on the mental health calendar and is used to help get the nation talking about the stigma, encouraging people to talk, listen and even change lives.
Northamptonshire Mind will be in the unit next to River Island, on the Ground Floor, between 9:30am and 4:30pm Monday-Friday and 9:30am and 3:30pm on Saturday, with a team of staff handpicked to deliver a calm environment for members of the local community, giving everyone the opportunity to find out about the services that Northamptonshire Mind offer and how they can be accessed.
James Roberts, centre manager at Grosvenor Shopping Northampton, explained: “To say it has been a challenging year is, of course, a huge understatement and we want to make sure that we are offering everyone within our community – centre team, retailers and customers – an opportunity to seek help and advice easily”.
“By providing support through our online social channels for the week, as well as within the centre, we hope that lots of people will access Northamptonshire Mind’s amazing services.
The Mind team will be at the centre to discuss, promote, advise, and inform people on how their services can support our community’s mental health.
Sarah Hillier Northamptonshire Mind CEO said: “We will be promoting our day opportunities, Crisis Cafes, Navigators, BBO, Volunteers, Hospital at Home, Breathing Space project and counselling to name just a few.
“Some people might just need some information about mental health, and we are there to support anyone and everyone.”
However, both Northamptonshire Mind and the centre understand that some people may not be ready to come out of their homes, or want to be able to access support in private and that’s where the Northamptonshire Mind Instagram takeover comes in.
James said: “Maybe when you hear the phrase ‘Instagram takeover’ you think of a celebrity or an influencer? We wanted to use the same concept as a way to support our online community.”
“We have a captive audience on Instagram and want to use this platform to bring support to people that may need it.”
From Monday 10th May to Wednesday 12th May the centre will be asking people to submit their questions via Grosvenor’s Instagram Stories. These will be collated and answered on Thursday 13th May, via Instagram Stories.
Sarah Hillier Northamptonshire Mind CEO added: “We will be carefully reading and responding to the messages that come in and of course offering additional support where needed too.”
“But, this is a great way to realise you are not alone, as we know we will have a lot of the same questions coming through and, for someone to know that someone else is struggling in the same way as them, is often a great first step to seeking change.”
Northamptonshire Mind is one of the largest mental health providers working in Northamptonshire. They work in partnership with Local Minds, Northamptonshire Health Foundation Trust and other Mental Health providers to support the mental health community through service provision, campaigning and influencing.
Northamptonshire Mind are local leaders in developing innovative services that support people with their mental health and together with their partners in the Mental Health Northants Collaboration, they are leading the way in redesigning and providing a mental health service.
