Beyond World Mental Health Day
October 10th was World Mental Health Day, and our friends at Swansea Council for Voluntary Services marked the occasion by attending a regional Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Summit at the Swansea.com Stadium. The event was a key staging post for regional wellbeing in the 2020s, and each of the day’s workshops offered valuable guidance for individuals and organizations seeking to improve quality of support and quality of life.
The Transforming Services Workshop set out plans to improve signposting, access to information and quality of service delivery.
The Well-being and Community Support Services Workshop outlined ways mental health services could be brought closer to communities, with greater resources available for day services.
The Advice for People Struggling Financially Workshop acknowledged the emotional burden on people whose lives are being made progressively more difficult by the rising cost of living. Financial hardship can be a gateway to stress, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and substance misuse.
On October 10th, talented, compassionate people discussed issues that will require not only talent and compassion to solve, but also funding. These are uncertain times for our public services, and it’s difficult to predict what funding will be available in the months and years ahead.
There’s one thing we can predict, though. Swansea Council for Voluntary Services will continue to be a beacon of light for the Third Sector. Dedicated professionals will continue to stand up for individuals and communities, delivering information, advice and support, offering a message of hope to the vulnerable and speaking truth to power. We all have our own responsibilities, as individuals, as parents, as children, as employees and as friends. If you agree that we also have a responsibility to our communities, then the question for each of us is, “what am I doing to help?”
If you walk side by side with SCVS, as a volunteer or as a partner organisation, you’ll never have to ask yourself that question again