Jack Moore

The ‘Waggy Walk for Wellbeing’ event will take place on Sunday 6th October 2019, and will be a fun day out for all the family, including dogs.

On the day, there will be a 5k dog walk* around the scenic hacking track of Bishop Burton College as well as shorter walks available for owners to walk their dogs. The day will raise money and awareness for local charities Hull and East Yorkshire Mind and RSPCA Hull and East Riding.

There will also be a range of fun activities taking place on the day to raise money for the charities such as competitions and Spin the Wheel games. There will be prizes on the day for dogs with the waggiest tail; best trick; best junior handler; dog that most looks like its owner; best condition for dog’s age, and most awesome eyes. A rosette will be presented for each of the 1st 2nd and 3rd placed winners.

With refreshments, and tours of the animal unit at Bishop Burton College, this really will be a day for all the family to enjoy.

There will be a cost of £10 per car attending the event. This will go to benefit both organisations.

Want to attend but don’t have a dog? Pop along and support us anyway – we would love to see you!

*All dogs must be vaccinated and kept on a lead at all times during the event.

Book tickets here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/waggy-walk-for-wellbeing-hull-and-east-yorkshire-mind-and-rspca-hull-tickets-68282289165

World Mental Health Day is approaching and we want to encourage local people to help us raise awareness and get involved.

To help people get involved, we have developed some free packs for individuals and businesses to get involved in the weeks coming up to World Mental Health Day. Within these packs are some resources and activities to use in order to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Within the packs, we have included:

• Some information on our 5W2WChallenge – a challenge to help improve your mental health and wellbeing.
• A conversation starter – to have those all-important conversations about mental health.
• Some tips on how to talk to someone about your mental health.
• Some example posts for you to share on social media.
• A pledge for you to commit to support World Mental Health Day.
• Some fundraising ideas for you to try

Supporting World Mental Health Day doesn’t have to be a big thing – simply showing someone that you care is sometimes all it takes. If you are interested in getting involved, sign up to receive your free pack here.

At Hull and East Yorkshire Mind and North East Lincolnshire Mind, we know the benefits that physical activity can have for mental wellbeing and wanted to offer you, our local community, something that would inspire you to support yourself and others.

The idea behind RED January is to challenge yourself to get active every day, your way.

Whether you run, swim, cycle or choose your favourite fitness activity, set your goal and enjoy support from the RED community every step, splash and pedal of the way!

This is your chance to kick-start your 2020 in a positive way and raise funds for Hull and East Yorkshire Mind and North East Lincolnshire Mind, so together we can be active for better mental health.

More information to follow in the coming weeks. For now, check out redtogether.co.uk and join RED’s online community at @redjanuaryuk and at #redjanuary2020

We’re looking forward to joining fitness and fundraising forces with you all!

We are delighted to announce that our Operations Director Emma Dallimore has been appointed as our new Chief Executive.

Emma said “I am very lucky and grateful to be leading an organisation that I care about and believe in along with a fantastic staff team to support people in our area. One of my key drivers is to ensure that we are the very best we can be. It’s a new chapter for us and I can’t wait to see where it takes us”

You can follow Emma on Twitter here

Are you interested in becoming a Wellbeing Ambassador for young people? Do you want to learn about mental health and develop your communication skills? Do you consider yourself to be calm and supportive and have a mature attitude to life? Would you like to have a say in how mental health support for young people should be delivered through Hull & East Yorkshire Mind?

If you have answered yes to any of the above then we want to hear from you! We are looking for a group of young people to train to become Wellbeing Ambassador Volunteers for Hull and East Yorkshire Mind. We are holding an information event on Wednesday 14th August 4-5pm at Wellington House.

Training dates (both dates must be attended):

• Day 1 Friday 23rd August 10am-4
• Day 2 Friday 30th August 10-4

Places are limited and must be booked in advance. To book a place and get more information, please call Debbie Thomson or Katie Alder on: 01482 240200.

*A parental consent form will be required before attending the training

Do you need information, advice or support? We can help.

We are Hull and East Yorkshire Mind, your local mental health charity, and we won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect.

Come along to our NEW Information Drop-in at Goole Library and Museum between 10am and 2pm on Wednesday 7th August 2019.

No appointment needed! Just turn up on the first Wednesday of the month between 10am and 2pm.

*Other support services will be available on the day at the first drop in.

One of the things people often say to us is that they didn’t realise we help people with their housing.

This is a really big part of what we do at Hull and East Yorkshire Mind – we believe that a welcoming, safe environment to live in is crucial to our mental health.

We have a variety of different housing projects- from houses for young people who are at risk of homelessness, to housing for people just coming out of a mental health hospital, and houses where we support people with complex mental health problems to recover and become more independent.

Did you know…?

• We have 95 beds throughout all of our properties?
• We manage 23 properties ranging from 1 bed flats to 10 bed shared properties.
• 82% of people living in our supported housing now live more independently.
• Someone recently said “Staying with Hull and East Yorkshire Mind helped me to come out of my shell and back on my feet”

There are lots of people who help us to provide this support- so thank you to everyone who helps to provide a safe home for people who need it.

One of the pleasures of my job is to hear the positive stories of how people have been able to recover and turn their lives around for the better. So I want to share one of these stories with you.

Patrick (not his real name) is 23 years old and came to live in Hull and East Yorkshire Mind’s accommodation after a stay in a local mental health inpatient unit. He had been admitted informally to hospital from A&E after an attempt to end his own life. Patrick was diagnosed with depression, and after talking to hospital staff, he came to live with Hull and East Yorkshire Mind. Our staff worked closely with Patrick to help him increase his independence, sort out his benefits, build new relationships, develop an insight into his mental health and support him with his drug and alcohol use. After eight months, Patrick was eager to find longer term secure accommodation, and was offered his own property soon after. We continued to support Patrick as he moved into his new accommodation, and he has now started work and no longer needs benefits.

“Living with Hull and East Yorkshire Mind has given me the opportunity to recover. I now feel that I am ready to move on and live independently in the community”

It is really good to see the impact that our support has had on Patrick, and the other people that we support every day across Hull and East Yorkshire.

There are lots of ways we can help, both in the community and in our housing, local to where you live. We can help local people to make positive changes to their lives in order to achieve their goals.

If you feel like you need some help, get in touch on 01482 240200, email info@heymind.org.uk or visit our website at www.heymind.org.uk

Best wishes

Rebecca Parker

Chief Executive – Hull and East Yorkshire Mind

This month we are sharing information, advice and stories to do with housing and mental health. Where you live can have a huge impact on your mental health – everyone needs safe, stable and suitable housing to stay well.

Poor mental health can make it harder to cope with housing problems, while being homeless or having problems in your home can make your mental health worse. There are lots of different reasons why your mental health and your housing situation might affect each other. These could be due to:

• Stress and anxiety – If wherever you’re living feels unsafe, uncomfortable or insecure, you might constantly feel stressed, anxious, panicked or depressed.
• Relationship problems – Housing problems can put a strain on relationships. For example, feeling angry or stressed can cause arguments or make it hard to discuss what to do. Relationship breakdown, for example with parents or partners, can also result in housing problems.​
• Sleeping problems – If your sleeping conditions are noisy, crowded, uncomfortable or chaotic you might find it hard to sleep. Stress and worry can also keep you awake.
• Money problems – Problems with money, housing and mental health often go together. Money problems might mean you’re struggling to afford rent, mortgage payments or bills.
• Practical difficulties – Having a mental health problem can make it harder to cope with keeping on top of bills and letters, or talking to people like landlords or housing associations.
• Physical health problems – Environmental issues such as damp, mould, and dirt can make you physically unwell. If you don’t have access to cooking or washing facilities you might find it hard to eat healthily, exercise and take care of yourself. Experiencing physical illnesses can impact on your mental health.

There are things we all can do to make our housing environment a safe place for us to stay well. If you would like some tips on how to make your house a home and improve your housing environment – click here to view a handy guide from Mind.

It can feel really hard to ask for help with housing problems, but there are lots of people you can turn to. For information on a range of housing queries you can contact your local authority or get in touch with the Citizens Advice Bureau.