Booking opens for Healthy Workplaces World Mental Health Day event

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A special event to bring together employers and employees, and highlight the important roles workplaces play in mental wellbeing will take place in North Somerset on World Mental Health Day (Monday 10 October).

The ‘Being a Community of Change and Making a Difference’ conference is being organised and hosted by the North Somerset Workplace Health and Wellbeing Collaborative – a group made up of different local organisations which is supporting the development of a Healthy Workplace accreditation scheme in North Somerset.

The event will take place on Monday 10 October from 1pm to 9pm at the Winter Gardens in Weston-super-Mare and people can now book their free tickets to attend.

A range of speakers will be at the conference including Professor Dame Carol Black, an expert on the relationship between work and health. Local support groups and services will be on hand to showcase their work and the help they offer. Organisations which will be attending the event include:

  • Talk Club, a talking and listening club for men
  • the North Somerset Male Health Stakeholder Group
  • GamCare who support anyone affected by gambling harms
  • We Are With You who provide confidential support with alcohol, drugs or mental health
  • Weston Athletic Club
  • Western Rebels, a walking football club
  • Better Health North Somerset – the council’s public health team
  • NHS Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust

There will also be information on menopause from local specialists, taster sessions for massage and meditation and The Jamestown Brothers Band will be providing entertainment to complete the day.

Cllr Mike Bell, North Somerset Council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Public Health, said: “We’re committed to tackling health inequalities across North Somerset. With the current cost of living crisis, people are facing very real anxieties and worries which can badly affect mental health.

“Many of us spend a significant proportion of our lives at work and clearly workplaces have an impact on our mental wellbeing. Having a healthy workforce is something every organisation should be striving for. Our public health team is doing great work to promote healthy workplaces. For example our North Somerset Healthy Workplaces Award Programme specifically supports local employers to develop and deliver policies and programmes to make positive changes in the workplace. 

"This event is a great example of partners and communities coming together to see what we can all do to improve things for people across North Somerset. We’ll have local experts there who’ll be sharing their own experiences and knowledge to help promote good mental health and wellbeing. There’ll be lots on offer so please come and join us!” 

The event is free. Book your tickets at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/makingadifferencetickets. To find out more about the Healthy Workplace Award programme visit the Better Health North Somerset website at https://www.betterhealthns.co.uk/practitioners/healthy-workplaces/