Today four new Time to Change hubs have been launched, in Bristol, Nottingham, Waltham Forest and Worcestershire, to change how we all think and act about mental health locally.
Time to Change hubs are networks of local organisations and individuals committed to ending negative attitudes and behaviours towards people experiencing mental health problems in their communities.
Too many people with mental health problems are made to feel isolated, ashamed and worthless. But with the right support from those around them, people can recover and have equal opportunities in all areas of life. Encouraging people to open up to mental health – to talk and to listen – is the first step.
Time to Change hubs have been created to combine the insights from the national campaign with local knowledge to support communities, workplaces and schools to take action to improve the way everyone thinks and acts about mental health problems in their area.
Time to Change, the national campaign run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, launched its first regional hubs in March 2017. The announcement of four further hubs (Waltham Forest, Nottingham, Bristol, and Worcestershire) is part of the campaign’s three year plan to establish a network of hubs across England to provide a focus for local campaigning work.
In order to be named a Time to Change hub, local partnerships had to demonstrate their commitment to:
- Embedding anti-stigma and discrimination work in their own organisations
- Campaigning for change in their communities
- Putting people with personal experience of mental health problems at the heart of their work.
Since their initial launch, Time to Change regional hubs have successfully campaigned to end mental health stigma and discrimination. Their work has ranged from closing down a stigmatising game ‘experience’ where participants are challenged to escape from a scary ‘asylum’ to supporting Time to Talk Day (1 February 2018) and running events to delivering PR campaigns aimed at improving understanding and respect for people living with a mental health problem.
Jo Loughran, Operations Director at Time to Change, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with organisations and individuals to create a sustainable campaign for change, tailored to the needs and priorities of the local community.
“In the past our work locally has been driven by the passion and commitment of individual champions. By having hubs in place we’re making sure the wider community is more involved and that there is strong local leadership and expertise in place to provide support.”
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