Dorset Mind discuss mental health and events in 2019

With Dorset Mind continuing as our chosen charity for 2019, we caught up with Dee Swinton, the charity’s Income Generation and Marketing Manager to find out what they’ve got coming up this year and how we can help raise vital funds and awareness.

You must be delighted to be carrying on as our chosen charity for 2019?

Yes, we're over the moon to be chosen for the second time - we've enjoyed working with HoL over the last year in two roles - benefiting as one of the two chosen charities of the year and also through delivering our workplace training programme.

Being chosen again means we can really build on our working relationship and upon what we learnt this year - which will enable us to work closer going forward. It also gives us an opportunity to carry on raising mental health awareness to one of the largest companies in Bournemouth.

What plans have Dorset Mind got for 2019? Are there more events and opportunities in the pipeline than last year?

Yes, there certainly are - as we've expanded this year we've been able to grow our Fundraising and Events team, so expect to see extra fundraising and awareness events in our timetable.

We're also hoping to encourage HoL staff to volunteer with us across various roles including fundraising and befriending, so they can find out first-hand what we do to help local people towards positive mental health.

Is there one event that you’re particularly looking forward to?

We're really looking forward to the Dorset Plane Pull on the August Bank Holiday, it was a fun family day out last year and I'm sure HoL could put a team together that could beat last year's winners Poole Rugby Club - there's plenty of time to practise lifting weights!

Do you think mental health is still a taboo subject or is it changing for the better to be something people are more openly talking about?

The work the young Royals have done with their 'Heads Together' umbrella charity, of which national Mind is a part of, has been integral in making it ok to finally start to talk about mental health openly.

Saying that, there is still so much stigma in various communities and across all ages, for example in older generations where the attitude has historically to brush any issues 'under the carpet,' and schools where young people don't want to be labelled as being 'different'.

Men also struggle with talking about their mental health, and remain a high-risk category as do the LGBT community.

We want to help educate people, to let them know that we all have mental health - whether it's good or bad - and sometimes we might need some help or guidance to build our resilience.

It is possible to live positively with mental health, and there are steps we can all take to improve our mental wellbeing.