Blog

We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty The Queen and offer our condolences to the Royal Family during this time of mourning.

Some of us look forward to the autumn, with the promise of cosy jumpers,  hot drinks and spending more time indoors. For some people the upcoming weeks are less appealing, with fewer daylight hours and colder temperatures. As the seasons change, you may notice a shift in your mental health. We’ve put together some helpful guidance on how to manage the transition to autumn and avoid it negatively impacting mental health.

27-year-old Zany lost her close friend to suicide five years ago. Like many people who are bereaved by suicide, she experienced a complex set of emotions following his death and grappled with a sense of detachment and hopelessness. She tells us her story about what helped her to address her grief.

Lourdes Colclough is Rethink Mental Illness’ Head of Suicide Prevention. She talks to us about the part we play in suicide prevention and demonstrates the power of the community to change and save lives.

There is a great need to support the mental health of children and young people in alternative provision education. A 2018 report from the House of Commons Education Committee (Forgotten children: alternative provision and the scandal of ever-increasing exclusions) found that an estimated one in two pupils in Alternative Provision schools have social, emotional and mental health as their primary category of Special Educational Need, as opposed to 1 in 50 in the general population.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the mental health and wellbeing of people across the globe. But as we return to a semblance of the lives we had pre-Covid, we are being gripped by an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis in this country.

Scotland’s land mass is classified as 98% rural with circa 1 million people living there. National Charity, Support in Mind Scotland, emphasise the need to support people with their mental health no matter where they live in Scotland.

Beyond Bricks was launched by our founding partner in Northern Ireland, MindWise in January 2022 and was made possible thanks to fundraising by colleagues at Lloyds Banking Group. We spoke to Children and Young People Programmes Coordinator, Amy, from MindWise about the brilliant work she’s been doing to make Beyond Bricks happen.

Our peer support platform, Clic, has recently extended its reach by setting up the ‘Homes for Refugees’ community – to offer support to households across the UK who are hosting refugees or asylum seekers or thinking about doing so.