It’s time to talk!
Written by Marija Mikne (Project Coordinator, BIG Alliance)
After a break in 2021, BIG Alliance were excited to bring back the annual Mental Health school workshops in February, in line with the Time to Talk day (3 February).
Time to Talk is a national awareness raising day encouraging everyone to have conversations about their mental health to help create supportive communities. It’s important that people feel comfortable talking about their mental wellbeing as 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health issue at some point, and it could be argued that these conversations can never be had too early.
The workshops were a great opportunity for volunteers to facilitate discussions in schools to help reduce the stigma around talking about mental health, and get children to think about how mental health can be improved within and outside of the school environment.
By the end of the month, a total of 18 volunteers engaged 290+ pupils across five of Islington’s Primary Schools.
“Having volunteers from the wider community run these workshops is a great opportunity for schools to continue to raise awareness around mental health and its importance. The activities allow pupils the space to think about the different areas that support their mental health in a fun and engaging way. Working with volunteers in this way helps to reduce stigma and supports children to understand that positive mental health is important to everyone.”
– Louise Jones, Health Improvement Adviser for Mental Health at Islington Council.
The workshops were so well received by the volunteers and the schools alike, that BIG Alliance decided to run them again in May to commemorate the Mental Health Awareness Week. If you would like to volunteer at these workshops, you can find out more and book a slot via Eventbrite.
To stay up to date with the latest news, opportunities and success stories, please sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, here.
