Three community leaders have joined forces to promote Mental Health Awareness Week. 

Cllr Mel Dawkins of Canterbury and Fred Pearce and Andy Davidson of Herne Bay, who were all Labour Party candidates in the elections for Canterbury City Council on 4 May, have swapped red for blue for a week to help champion East Kent Mind’s #WearItBlue campaign. 

Mental Health Awareness Week aims to encourage positive conversations around wellbeing and raise the profile of East Kent Mind’s services in the Canterbury district. 

The charity is asking the public to don a blue top and take a selfie photo, post it on social media and mention @EastKentMind and #WearItBlue in any narrative written in the post. 

To support the campaign the trio of Labour Party campaigners wore branded #WearItBlue T-shirts and took part in a special video appealing for the public to get involved. 

Simon Dolby, Development Lead at East Kent Mind, said: “I am so grateful to Mel, Fred and Andy for their support. This campaign is not just about helping to destigmatise the topic of mental health, but also to attract donations to support our frontline mental health services in the Canterbury district.” 

Cllr Mel Dawkins said: “Mental health is a topic that has touched so many families in recent years, so we were all delighted to give our support to this East Kent Mind campaign. The work the charity delivers locally makes such a difference to so many people.” 

East Kent Mind is part of the registered charity Mind in Bexley and East Kent so donations or fundraisers using the JustGiving platform must select Mind in Bexley and East Kent to ensure funds go to support frontline services locally. 

To find out more about #WearItBlue click this link:  www.eastkentmind.org.uk/get-involved/wearitblueformindinbexleyandeastkent/  

To visit the charity’s JustGiving page to make a donation or to create an online sponsor form to support a fundraiser, click here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/WearItBlueforMindinBexleyandEastKent  

If you can support #WearItBlue contact Simon Dolby on simondolby@eastkentmind.org.uk 

Fact-file 

• Approximately 1 in 4 people in East Kent experience a mental health problem each year. 

• 1 in 6 people experience a common mental health problem such as anxiety and depression in any given week. 

• 81% of East Kent Mind clients cite financial worries as a factor affecting their mental health. The charity expects this percentage to increase as the cost-of-living crisis continues. 

• Support is detailed on the website www.eastkentmind.org.uk  

Mentoring spotlight  

East Kent Mind delivers a range of services to support those in need, but its volunteer mentoring programme offers readers a way they can get involved and make a real difference to those in need.

Volunteering one hour a week as an East Kent Mind mentor can help rebuild a life. 

The service helps the mentee cope with their mental health problems in a more positive way. 

Mentors deliver the service over the phone from the comfort of their own home at a time of their choosing and are trained to use the innovative Recovery Star model to track progress and build the self-esteem and confidence of the mentee. 

It introduces mentees to ideas and approaches that others have found helpful and that they may not have thought about before. 

To find out more visit eastkentmind.org.uk/mentoring