Time to Talk Day is an annual event, now led exclusively by mental health charity MIND. The day seeks to make talking about mental health part of everyday life and is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation. A chance to listen, share, and talk about what really matters.
To mark the day, Mid Suffolk VASP attended Osier Cafe in St Peter and St Mary’s Church, in Stowmarket. This was supported by Bev one of our Mental Health Advisors and other VASP partners, including Healthwatch Suffolk, Community Connectors, SNEE ICB, NSFT Wellbeing Service, Everyone Active Suffolk.
During the day, everyone was encouraged to ‘Brave the Big Talk’ and have conversations about mental health experiences that don’t get spoken about as often. By approaching the VASP team visitors to the café were able to receive a token for a free hot drink, along with a free tote bag containing information and merchandise about mental health support
As the Osier Café is extremely popular, there were lots of people taking an interest – with many being family Family Carers. This presented a great opportunity to not only talk to them about their caring roles, but to also speak to them about the importance of taking care of their own mental health and wellbeing.
The day was very enjoyable for both people visiting the stalls and staff in attendance. Mental Health should not be a taboo subject; we all have it!
Each year Time to Talk day encourages friends, families, workplaces, and communities to talk openly about mental health to break down barriers and reduce stigma. By enabling someone to talk about their mental health, we open conversations to help people feel less isolated and pave the way for them to get support. You may not be able to ‘fix’ things, but listening empathetically can be powerful and change a person’s life.
