In this time of pandemic there is a lot of emphasis on physical health and rightly so. We at LCI and LMM don’t want to forget all those struggling with their mental health at a time when we are all living in a ‘new normal’ and cut off from loved ones.
Leeds Citizens have been hosting listening events across the city to get a fuller picture of people’s experiences of mental health services in Leeds. What they find out will be fed back to those who have the power to make change happen. We hosted one of these events over Zoom on Thursday 23rd April.
If you couldn’t make it to our event your experiences and ideas would still be hugely valued so please get in touch with Anna: anna.bland@ywmethodist.org.uk, 07903755995. Add your experiences into the bigger picture and make change happen.
Craftivism
In this time Mental Health teams are doing some amazing work across the city of Leeds and we want to take some time to thank them.
Normally we would provide some craft resources at our Everyday Activism events but this time we are all going to have to do it at home. I have no idea what resources you might have, so please create a thank you card using whatever you can. I am going to do a watercolour one and one using coloured pens.
For those with no craft resources you can send an e-card, the best website we have found so far is this one but please let us know if you know of better ones. Email your e-card to info@leedsmind.org.uk or another mental health organisation of your choosing.
We recommend you send them to your local mental health team – you can find the details here. I am also going to send one to my friend Ruth who works as part of the mental health service as a more personal one. Please let us know if you are doing this and tag us on social media Twitter @LMMinthecity, @LCILeeds and Facebook @LeedsMethodistMission, @LCILeeds.
Concerned about your own or someone else’s mental health? Take a look at the below document which lists available support in Leeds
Everyday Activism is a series of events run by LMM and LCI. We embrace a reflective and appreciative approach to activism, creating spaces of learning and chatting as well as taking gentle actions. Activist burnout is common and we want to create spaces that feed activists rather than drain them. See our other activist resources here.