England’s biggest ever campaign to end mental health stigma and discrimination 'Gets Moving'

England’s most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health goes live on a national scale this week with mass-participation physical activity events, the local launch of a nationwide campaign, and a new interactive website.

The Time to Change programme (previously Moving People), is funded with £16 million from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) through its Well-being programme, and Comic Relief’s biggest ever UK grant of a further £2m.

The local campaign launch in Cambridge is the pilot launch of the social marketing campaign that will challenge attitudes about mental health, with this local version delivered in partnership the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. It includes posters, press and radio ads, as well as ‘conversation starters’ such as beer mats and stencils for street art. The campaign will launch nationally in January 2009.

Get Moving week will kick off with a mass bulb-planting event at the Eden Project in Cornwall this Saturday, 4 October. Almost 300 events will be taking place across England all week, culminating in a ‘walk a mile for mental health’ event in Battersea Park on World Mental Health Day (10 Oct), with celebrities Olympic medallist Phillips Idowu, model Sophie Anderton and actor Joe McGann leading the walk, helping reach the week's target of 10,000 miles.

The Time to Change programme is run by leading mental health charities Mental Health Media, Mind, and Rethink, and will be evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College, London.

A large-scale, coordinated effort to combat the stigma around mental health problems is long overdue, as people with mental health problems remain one of the most marginalised groups. The most extensive survey ever of the impact of discrimination on people affected by mental health problems, carried out by Time to Change earlier this year, revealed that nine out of ten mental health service users reported the negative impact of stigma and discrimination on their lives.

Meanwhile evidence is growing on the impact of physical activity on mental wellbeing. By bringing these two important issues together, Time to Change will raise awareness of mental health, reducing discrimination against those affected by mental health problems whilst improving the mental wellbeing of everyone.

The programme is based on international evidence of best practice, with diverse local and national elements working together to achieve a 5% reduction in discrimination by 2012. As well as Get Moving events, there will be:

• a high-profile social marketing campaign, launching in January 2009 and piloting in Cambridge from tomorrow (Wednesday 1 October)

• a legal team seeking test cases around discrimination to take through the courts

• a network of activists being trained and supported to combat discrimination themselves

• training for student teachers and doctors

• 28 local community projects

Get Moving is one of the key public facing elements of the programme. By bringing thousands of people with and without experience of mental health problems up and down the country, events will help to raise awareness of mental health and break down stigma - at the same time as encouraging people to get active as a way of beating stress and alleviating mental health issues.

An interactive website launches tomorrow (Wednesday 1 October) at www.time-to-change.org.uk and will be a hub for people to get involved with the campaign.

ENDS

For more information about Time to Change, please contact Kate Stringer, Communications Officer on:
T: 020 8215 2352
M: 07886 625 201

For more information about Get Moving please contact the Mind media team on
T: 020 8522 1743
M: 07850 788514
ISDN line available: 020 8221 0817

Big Lottery Fund Press Office:
T: 020 7211 1888.
Out of hours: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102
Textphone: 08456 021 659

Notes to Editors:

1. The Cambridge campaign launch takes place at Parker’s Piece, Cambridge at 11am on Wednesday 1 October. The people with experience of mental health problems who appear in the campaign will be available at the event to talk about their experiences.
2. The Eden Project bulb-planting event takes place at the Eden Project at 9.45am on Saturday 4 October.
3. The Battersea Park walk takes place at the athletics track, Battersea Park (nearest gates: Rosary Gate and Chelsea Gate) at 10.30am on Friday 10 October.
4. The £165 million Well-being programme provides funding to support the development of healthier lifestyles and to improve well-being. The programme focuses on three strands: mental health – to help people and communities to improve mental well-being; physical activity – to help people to become more physically active in their daily lives and in their communities; and healthy eating - for children, parents and the wider community to eat more healthily. To deliver this programme, The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has appointed a number of organisations to each deliver a portfolio of projects in England. In July 2007, BIG awarded £16,150,000 funding for the Time to Change portfolio.The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.Full details of the work of the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
5. The creatives for the campaign are available from Kate Stringer as above.
6. The Stigma Shout report on the experiences of almost 4000 mental health service users of stigma and discrimination is available from Kate Stringer as above.