Roadshows in Durham & Darlington

Case study: Roadshows in Durham and Darlington

Run by NHS County Durham and Darlington Community Health Services

Taking a sofa onto the streets of County Durham and Darlington was how local community health organisations decided to engage the public in tackling common misconceptions and raising awareness about good mental health.

Local voluntary sector organisations, the NHS in County Durham and Darlington and local authorities worked together to hold ‘Let’s Talk’ roadshows in market places and leisure centres. They got involved in Time to Change as a key part of their mental health improvement delivery plan to challenge stigma and discrimination.

Time to change resources

The ‘Let’s Talk’ roadshows were simple and low cost, especially with the free resources available on the Time to Change website.

On the day, there were three sessions between 8.30am and 3pm. Each session had a team of at least six volunteers from local voluntary sector organisations, the NHS and local authorities all wearing Time to Change t-shirts. The team used a sofa in the market place as the focal point for the event. There were leaflets and postcards to take away. The strong Time to Change branding was one of the things that worked really well on the day.

Sit and chat

The public were asked to sit on the sofa and chat about mental health. They were offered free fruit and juice. People were asked to complete a ‘Myths and Facts’ quiz sheet and an survey about their attitudes, and received a free stress toy.

This format was repeated in several venues around County Durham and Darlington and 700 members of the public have been engaged so far.

Top tips from the County Durham and Darlington team:

Target venues with high footfall of local people who would not normally engage in a ‘mental health event’
Do it in partnership with other organisations
Freebies and refreshments help to attract people
Strong Time to Change branding is key, do not dilute the message
Do try and have a sofa, people found it intriguing
Make good use of the resources Time to Change has available.

Find out more about what NHS County Durham and Darlington Community Health Services are doing.