Time to Talk over a Brew

Our charity has participated in the nations biggest mental health conversation.

It is noted that one in four of us will experience a mental health problem in any given year. There is no right way to discuss the causes surrounding mental health. The need to talk about mental health is vital in reducing future diagnosis and struggles.

One Voice Blackburn hosted a #TimeToTalk Day on Thursday the 3rd of February to highlight a campaign created by Time to Change; a leading mental health charity. The campaign aims to start a conversation about mental health and seeks to tackle stigmas and discrimination around the subject. It is all about creating supportive communities by having conversations with families, friends and colleges about mental health. We all have mental health, by talking about it we can support ourselves and others. 

The event hosted by One Voice Blackburn encouraged members of the local community to come together to talk, listen and change lives over a brew and butty. The purpose of the event was to reduce stigmas, helping to create supportive communities where they can all openly talk about mental health and feel empowered to seek support when we need it.

Ladies from the organisation’s Coffee Natters group and the wider community came together to engage in activities that stimulated conversations and positive thinking around mental health. One Voice Health Lead Nazia Khan stated, “It is so important to get people together to have an open conversations about mental health in a safe and comfortable environment. We need to talk about mental health and end the stigma and barriers related to it. This is why we have taken part in the Time to Talk Day 2022”.

One of the attendees from the event said, “If you have poor mental health, it can affect others around you. If I’m not ok, you’re not ok. This is the motto that I use with my children to make them aware of mental health and its affects”

Each individual who attended the event commented on how the Time to Talk event left them feeling refreshed and able to support themselves and others as well as having open conversations with friends and family.”

One Voice Blackburn runs a number of mental health awareness workshops and events as part of the Baiter Sehat (Better Health) programme.