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A Kidderminster Café is backing a local campaign to encourage more people to talk and get support for their mental health

Lifestyle Deli, in Bromsgrove Street, will host a ‘Now We’re Talking’ drop in morning at 10am on the 16^th April to promote Worcestershire Healthy Minds, a local NHS service set up to support people experiencing more common mental health issues, such as stress, worry and anxiety.

The ‘Now We’re Talking’ was launched in October 2018 by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, the county’s main provider of mental health services. The campaign encourages more people to access Worcestershire Healthy Minds, a self-referral service run by the Trust for local people aged 16+ experiencing common mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety, low mood or depression. Since the campaign launched there has been a marked increase in the numbers of local people accessing the Healthy Minds service, with March seeing over 750 - record number - self-referring either by phone or online. 

Tom Bain, owner of Lifestyle Deli said: “We are aware that mental health is a very real issue and particularly prevalent amongst men, and we are huge supporters of the Now We’re Talking campaign. We are really keen to support our customers and the wider community by promoting the importance of talking about mental health and of the local NHS support available - it’s really important to start those conversations.”

Dawn Stallard, from Worcestershire Healthy Minds, said: “Starting a conversation about mental health might seem daunting but Now We’re Talking have joined up with the Lifestyle Deli to provide the perfect setting to talk and get information either for yourself or someone you know. We all experience common mental health issues from time to time and its ok to reach out and ask for help and support. It is really important that as a community we come together and encourage and support us all to talk and get access to support when we need it.”

It is estimated that there are around 50,000 people in Worcestershire experiencing these more common mental health conditions. There are many situations in a person’s life which can lead to stress, anxiety, low mood or depression, and sometimes there are no obvious causes but asking the question and starting a conversation with someone can make a big difference.

Since its launch the ‘Now We’re Talking’ the campaign has worked with lots of local business and organisations to raise awareness. If you or your company would like to be involved you can contact Alice.Linley@nhs.net

You can self-refer to Worcestershire Healthy Minds by calling 0300 302 13 13 Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm or via email at www.nowweretalking.nhs.uk. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter @NowWereTalking_ and on Facebook @NowWereTalkingWorcs