Solent Mind – Portsmouth office charity

Solent Mind is the leading mental health charity across Hampshire. Solent Mind’s aim is to make sure anyone with a mental health problem has somewhere to turn for advice and support.

Solent Mind provides support to the community in Hampshire in a number of ways including:

• Wellbeing centres in Eastleigh, Winchester, Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth which provide a whole range of support from workshops on wellbeing, assertiveness and resilience through to yoga, running groups and art therapy groups.
• Advocates that work in hospitals, mental health units and the community to ensure that when people are deprived of their liberties, their voices are still heard.
• A dementia service, Remind, in Portsmouth offering practical and emotional support to people and their carers throughout their dementia journey.
• The Solent Recovery College which provides training and education courses for people with mental health issues, as well as their family, friends and carers.
• In, Fareham and Gosport, Upturn works with young people and their families to provide support through classroom-based workshops, small groups and 1-1 sessions.

As an example, in 2018/19, the Fareham and Gosport wellbeing service supported over 1000 people and 17,500 people were supported through iTalk talking therapies,

By 2030, it is estimated that there will be approximately 2 million more adults in the UK with mental health problems than there were in 2013. A survey in the UK confirmed that nearly half of those asked said they would feel uncomfortable talking to their employer about a mental health problem.

Blake Morgan wanted to support a charity that was helping and empowering local people which could include staff and their family and friends, and create a culture in the workplace that meant staff felt they can talk openly about their mental health and seek support when they need it.

After Solent Mind were appointed, it became apparent how much they had already impacted on the lives of staff whether it be through supporting a member or staff or a friend or family member.

We have supported Solent Mind through:

• Fundraising – RED January (a team-effort where a number of staff got active every day in January to beat the blues), running events, Crafternoon (an opportunity to get together, chat and make Christmas crafts), bake sales (who doesn’t love cake?!), sweepstakes & raffles.
• Events – we hosted Solent Mind’s AGM in our Southampton office and they use our offices for Trustee and staff away days.
• Volunteering and assistance – we provided complementary training to Trustees and a staff member helped them deliver workplace wellbeing training.

Solent Mind has helped us immensely by assisting us in encouraging a culture of being able to talk openly about mental health in the office. This has included helping us with our Time to Talk Day, providing lunch and learn sessions, so people could learn more about Solent Mind’s 5 ways to wellbeing and how to look after ourselves and each other. They have, of course, also given us a reason to bake cakes!

Solent Mind has had to adapt during the coronavirus pandemic and they have launched a coronavirus helpline to support anyone who is experiencing poor mental health or wellbeing as a result of the pandemic. We look forward to continuing to support Solent Mind.