Help Alabaré tackle Mental Health with The Big Give
It's Mental Health Awareness week - and some big stars are talking about it
Mental Health problems can happen to anyone. But Salisbury-based charity are supporting people in need at their Riverside Sanctuary.
The charity is also running The Big Give this week, which is Mental Health Awareness week, to provide funding to their Boots on the Ground service – which supports Veterans, the homeless and vulnerable young people.
Donations to The Big Give will be open all through Mental Health Awareness week until May 22nd – and the charity will DOUBLE the total donated. You can donate here.
Helen Brian is services manager at the Riverside Sanctuary, where a specialist team helps develop coping strategies for anyone who self-refers or is referred to the service by another party.
She says the conversation around mental health has “vastly improved” since her own issues in her in her early 20’s.
“I think the higher profile people, celebrities emerging and being honest about their experiences and the fact that it's very much more in general conversation, people feel freer to talk about it,” she said.
Helen added that speaking to someone is the key to opening the door to help: “Too often people start to feel like they're not feeling great emotionally or mentally.
“The key is to sort of speak out as early and as soon as you can because the sooner you do, there will be someone there to help you.”
Person Centred Approach
At the Riverside Sanctuary, they take a person-centred approach, rather than generalised techniques.
She said: “It's about like really holistically looking at the individual, looking at their circumstances and really, really listening to what they've got to say and then figuring out how we can help.”
The team at the Riverside also integrate a person’s own support network, whether that be friends or family.
Helen says: “If that's something they want us to do, we can attend GP appointments, we can attend mental health appointments, we go as far as taking people out to on to community visits.
“There is massive benefit to sort of working with somebody and their support network too, so that everyone's kept involved.”
Stars Speak Out
And with high-profile stars such as England Captain Harry Kane and Formula 1 driver George Russell speaking this week about mental health, Helen says it shows mental health challenges can happen to anyone.
She says it’s important for the younger generation to see people like Harry Kane speak out because they’re “relatable”.
“If someone like Harry Kane can be honest and speak about how he's occasionally struggled or like he talks about his mental health, it shows that you can have these challenges, but you can still be successful.”