Romsey Abbey has expanded its range of books in the Promoting Wellbeing category on sale from the Bookstall. Bridget Brook, Trustee of Triangulate, explains that the booklist was drawn up for the Festival of Wellbeing held in 2014 and since then the Abbey has offered a few titles. In recent weeks the variety has been extended and there is now a selection of books on a range of topics from Coping with Stress and Depression, Mindfulness, Meditation, Living with the Black Dog as well as titles covering other aspects of spirituality.

Triangulate also has a range of free materials available from its information stand in the South Aisle of the Abbey. If you know anyone who might be interested in finding out more, then please direct them to the Abbey. Bridget adds: ‘we know these leaflets go far and wide, taken not only by our own congregation and local visitors but by many from further afield’.

On a bright, fresh and sunny Sunday morning, the Exercising Spirit and Mind team started to collect in the beautiful Broadlands Park for the 2015 Romsey Rotary Relay Marathon. 

10 dedicated runners/walkers had offered to ‘pound’ the individual legs of 2.6 miles each in aid of Triangulate and Romsey Abbey.

With almost 60 teams entered, there was a wonderful atmosphere as 10am approached and the “letter A” runners were called to the start. After a noisy countdown from 10 to 1, they were cheered away by all their supporters. Very soon the next runner was readied with incoming runners cheered and welcomed home.

By the time our 10th runner had crossed the finish line, we had clocked up a time of 4hrs 17mins. 

Below is a picture of the gallant men and women of Team 24! Everyone a hero and taking part for a very good cause. Thank you to our fantastic team and to all who have and continue to support our work. It is very much appreciated.

Triangulate recently attended a meeting of the Whiteley WAGS Women’s Institute group to give a talk about its work and the importance of making Time to Talk and to listen to people around us.

The talk focused on the impact of having conversations with people, both in and out of the workplace, and how we can all share in this and make a difference.

It was such a pleasure to meet the members and to be able to give out lots of materials for them to use in future conversations.

Triangulate, the Romsey-based charity which raises awareness of positive mental wellbeing in the workplace, has recently made donations totalling £900 in support of young people in the town. Cheques have been presented to The Romsey School, The Mountbatten School, Youth in Romsey and Solent Mind’s Heads Up project (which is delivered in local schools.)  Bridget Brook, Trustee, says ‘whilst Triangulate primarily supports people in the workplace, we know that studies suggest about 1 in 10 of all young people may experience a mental health problem or disorder. It’s also proven that getting help early can prevent difficulties becoming more serious and as with all mental health issues it’s really important that young people feel they can have these conversations without fear of stigma and discrimination. Time to Change, the national campaign to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination, has produced many resources to support young people, including information for parents and these are very informative. We hope these donations will enable the schools and support agencies to continue the positive work already taking place.’

Ian Richards, Vice Chair of Youth in Romsey, on receiving the cheque, says ‘this donation is much appreciated and will support our work with young people, especially those without life skills or with learning difficulties, in achieving work placements. Our work is sympathetic to Triangulate with young people of the Romsey area.’

Romsey Chamber of Commerce has continued its support for Triangulate by presenting a cheque for £500, the proceeds from the summer reception held in the Mill Water Gardens in July.

Philip Liddell, Director, and Peter Speirs, President, presented the cheque to Bridget Brook from Triangulate at a recent Chamber training evening. Bridget explained that the money will be used to provide stress awareness training sessions for Chamber members in 2015.

The Global Crisis of Depression

THE LOW OF THE 21ST CENTURY?

We were delghted to be given a place at a one day conference hosted by The Economist and sponsored by Lundbeck at which a range of speakers, including Kofi Annan, Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP and Alastair Campbell and a whole host of other experts discussed the impact across the globe of depression agreeing that the complexity of the problem requires a multi-faceted approach, with engagement from government, academia, healthcare providers, the pharma industry, employers and patient groups.

This was a fascinating day and thanks are noted for enabling us to attend.

Norman Lamb MP, Minister of State for Care and Support at the Department of Health was a speaker at the 10^th Anniversary Conference for Mindful Employer on 15 October 2014.

He joined Dame Carol Black, Pen Hadow, Steve Boorman and Liggy Webb in speaking at this unique event which also included workshops on the key issues affecting the mental wellbeing of employees, a specially commissioned film, displays from supporting organisations and networking opportunities.

Bridget Brook, Triangulate Trustee, co-delivered a workshop on Understanding and Preventing Suicide.

Please view the film here and have a look at the conference presentations.

Students on the NCS* scheme Powered by Footprint Hants held a community fair on the North Churchyard at Romsey Abbey in July 2014 in support of Triangulate. On sale were a range of craft items and refreshments, fund-raising games and information about the work of Triangulate. The students were seen throughout the town in their distinctive orange T shirts encouraging members of the public to donate to our work and to learn more about mental health.

We were delighted to receive a cheque for £702.47 from this activity and will be giving the money back to local schools in support of school mental wellbeing activities.

*The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a government initiative across the country. Students aged 16 and 17 come together for a few weeks with others whom they would not normally have the opportunity to work and share experiences with. Over several weeks it provides them with a springboard for the future by developing new skills, confidence and a broader set of horizons.

Bridget Brook, on behalf of the Trustees of Triangulate, handing Rev Vanessa Lawrence, Chaplain for Southern Health at Melbury Lodge, Winchester a donation towards the running costs of the Tree of Life café. The café meets every Monday afternoon at Caffe Nero in Romsey between 3-5pm and provides a supportive environment where anyone is welcome. The café has been running now for eighteen months and is attracting local people and others from further afield. Some people pop in, have a chat and go whilst others stay for the afternoon. The café will be taking a break during August and will start back at the beginning of September.

Triangulate is delighted to have been named as the Romsey Chamber of Commerce’s charity for the coming year. Bridget Brook and Ian Cox   attended the AGM at the beginning of May and spoke about how vital it is for businesses in our town to understand the importance of wellbeing within their workplaces. This applies to everyone in the business from employees, managers and also to the many who are working on their own. Bridget explained how Triangulate had been started and the support that has been received from many in the town. She was also pleased to announce that Triangulate will be delivering short, focused stress awareness sessions for businesses in the town during the coming year – these will be free and offered through the Chamber. Watch Chamber communications for more details!