The NHS has joined forces with Living Well UK and Birmingham Mind, to launch the region’s first one-stop mental health call-line for Birmingham and Solihull. Designed to make accessing mental health support as easily as possible, the 24-hour telephone number will allow callers to get immediate help over the phone from trained staff, as well as bespoke plans for aftercare assistance, all remotely. The one-stop mental health call-line for Birmingham and Solihull is part of a suite of early intervention methods, which also includes a Live Web Chat instant messenger service and an email address operated by trained staff to
Leading mental health charity, Living Well UK, has teamed up with fellow Birmingham tech-developers, Lumien, to launch a brand new platform assessing mental health in the workplace. The two Birmingham brands’ new platform sheds light on workplace wellbeing to ensure it remains a priority in lockdown. Accumulating information, analysing the results and advising on steps to help remedy the problems, the Lumien application will be vital in the fight to keep mental health a priority for Birmingham’s employers and employees alike. With the country navigating a second lockdown and remote working looking like the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable, the
Exchanging teas for tees, Evolve has teamed up with the region’s infamous satire artist, Foka Wolf, to issue an urgent call to action for Birmingham to support its young people. The pair have today launched their limited edition t-shirts for sale; with proceeds going towards funding the social enterprise café’s work-placement schemes for those aged 16-25. With stats showing that Generation Z has been the hardest hit by employment cuts in light of the ongoing pandemic, Foka Wolf – the artist touted as ‘Birmingham’s answer to Banksy’ – wanted to put pressure on the city to do the right thing
A brand-new social enterprise has launched in Birmingham, bringing women together to empower one another through fitness, wellbeing and group support. SheBeasts Limited sees fee-paying clients sign up for one-to-one personal training sessions, with profits re-invested into funding group activities for women in refuges across the city. Whilst helping women improve their fitness across the board, SheBeasts Ltd will also work with women recovering from trauma, ranging from substance misuse through to domestic abuse. These private sessions will focus on the importance of physical and mental wellbeing, providing advice and support on a range of skills, including nutrition, fitness, health,
With World Homeless Day (10 October) tomorrow, the stark reality of the winter months is upon us and a leading charity is reminding people of the need to support the region’s “hidden homeless”. As it reveals the latest updates on three major projects, Heart of England Community Foundation wants to demonstrate the immediate housing needs facing society. Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that unemployment rose by 62,000 in the three months leading up to July and Payroll data showed that 695,000 less people were employed in England, when compared to March. These statistics serve as a
As COVID-19 continues to affect businesses across the region, Heart of England Community Foundation is doing all it can to support charities within the West Midlands’ communities. Since the Foundation’s urgent appeal in March, it has now awarded over £1million to a range of local projects, helping them to adapt and survive COVID-19, all whilst offering vital services to those who need them most. The Foundation first launched its Coronavirus Resilience Fund on 23rd March, ensuring that money was available to support the vital services needing help during these unprecedented times. As a result of the pandemic, it has been reported
Heart of England Community Foundation has been extending kindness across the region with its Coronavirus Resilience Fund, supporting charities that are having to adapt, modify or pivot to survive COVID-19. In line with Mental Health Awareness Week, the Foundation has continued to award grants to vital services and charities supporting mental health needs, to ensure communities are still able to thrive during the pandemic. Designed to destigmatise the topic mental health and encourage people to find the support they need, there has never been a more pressing time to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week: with reports showing that charities across the
With social distancing and self-isolating now forming our new norm, so too are meetings over Zoom, hangouts on HouseParty, and FaceTime chats with family. However, whilst this provides us with ways to stay connected, it’s presenting a rising challenge in the form of ‘phone anxiety’. Recognising this as a barrier preventing people from asking for help, Living Well UK has today debuted its first live chat function: connecting people to trained therapists via instant messenger. The chat box – which has been funded by the Tesco Bags of Help grant, administered by Groundwork UK – can be found on the
Heart of England Community Foundation is celebrating six months of its ‘Building Better Lives’ programme, which originally launched back in November 2019. YMCA Birmingham, just one of the three charities funded by the programme, is using the grant of just over £1 million to fund the construction of 27 self-contained flats at its Northfield site, Magdalene Court. Since 2010, Government-funded youth services and resources have been cut by almost 70% and, as a result, have seen 750 youth centres close across England and Wales. Support for young people is crucial, and charities like YMCA provide this by offering them safe
Having seen normal life grind to a halt almost five weeks ago, the UK is missing many things: family gatherings; get-togethers with friends; and shop-bought coffee being just three of them. However, social enterprise café Evolve is aiming to address the latte, with the launch of ‘Evolve Delivers’: an at-home drop-off service that will bring coffee beans direct to your door. Brewing the idea since the city went into isolation, Evolve has now brought its deliveries to life, offering three hamper options. Filled to the brim with the bestsellers from its Digbeth and Selly Park sites, each aims to bring