New project to help mental wellbeing across Leicestershire launches

Training is split into three levels, ranging from awareness sessions to mental health first aid training.

A new initiative has launched to train local organisations and groups to become a Mental Health Friendly Place.  

The Mental Health Friendly Places scheme has been created to help support and encourage local people to start conversations about mental health.  Everyone is encouraged to join from barbers, and pubs to tattoo artists and community centres. 

The partnership project is led by Leicestershire County Council and offers training programmes to help organisations recognise the signs and symptoms of poor mental health, have healthy conversations and signpost to local mental health and wellbeing services. 

Councillor Louise Richardson, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “The mental health of ourselves and others is so important, no matter what age you are, and this joint initiative gives us the chance to ensure that trained locations can have positive conversations with people about their mental wellbeing. 

“I’m pleased that we can work with Leicester City Council and Rutland County Council so that we can get as many Mental Health Friendly Places as possible in all of our local areas, and I’d encourage any interested organisation to contact us for free training.”

Training is split into three levels, ranging from awareness sessions to mental health first aid training. Loughborough community Centre John Storer House was involved with the pilot of the project and will now become a Mental Health Friendly Place. 

Karen Frostick, Director at John Storer House said: “This training will provide us with the knowledge to have good positive conversations with all who use our facilities. We support a large amount of different people, and with mental health becoming more and more prominent in our conversations, we think becoming a safe space to discuss these topics will be highly beneficial for all the people we support day to day.”

More information about how to sign up can be found at https://www.startaconversation.co.uk/mental-health-friendly-places