AH Cheater, funeral directors in Romsey, have become signatories to the Mindful Employer Charter – for employers who are positive about mental health. Michael Peace of AH Cheater says ‘as an employer I want to show our employees that talking about having mental illness will not count against them in their job. We want to challenge the stigma associated with mental illness by setting up positive practices in the workplace. This has to be good for both employer and employee’.

Triangulate is delighted to have been chosen by Cllr Mike Curtis, Town Mayor, as one of his charities for the coming year. At the Mayor Making ceremony on 18 May, we were invited to give a 3 minute introduction to who we are and what we hope to do. This was a really good opportunity to tell people about what we hope to achieve – and why it is so important, not just for those that suffer and their families but also for employers and the business community, too.

We look forward to attending the Civic Service in June and the Mayor’s Picnic in July.

We have received great support from Romsey Chamber of Commerce. Ruth Gower-Smith, President, writes a regular column in the Advertiser and has used this to tell everyone about Triangulate on several occasions. We have now joined the Chamber of Commerce and look forward to working with them over the coming year.

During April and May we have spoken to three groups.

We attended the Community Network lunch in Southern Test Valley. The lunches aim to bring together staff and volunteers from health and social care, district councils, housing, community groups, education and other agencies, to share information and promote ways to improve services in the community.

The Carers’ Café meet in Woodley Hall, Romsey and we went along to talk about Triangulate and the work we are involved with. Bridget Brook talked about the background to the group being set up and Nick Virgo talked about the role of carers, telling everyone about the support group which has been set up for carers of people with mental health issues.

Later in the month Bridget Brook and Ian Cox went to the Home Group and shared some of the background to the work we are doing. Ian explained how the company he works for had become a Mindful Employer and the benefits this can bring for both employer and employee.

On 13 April, Triangulate ran their first event for local employers to discuss issues around mental health.  Held in the Town Hall it attracted attendees from a range of businesses in the town and farther afield. The audience of 40 including the Town Mayor, Cllr John Ray, the Town Mayor Elect, Cllr Mike Curtis and Sandra Gidley, Lib-Dem Parliamentary Candidate were welcomed to the event by Chamber of Commerce President, Ruth Gower-Smith. Other organisations attending the employer event included representatives from Solent Mind, JobcentrePlus and the NHS Foundation Trust.

Richard Frost from Mindful Employer led the evening. Most attendees had not previously heard of this initiative and were interested to hear from Richard what support there is for employers. Ian Cox spoke about signing the company he works for up to Mindful Employer and why he feels it is an important step both for the company and the employees.  Following the presentations attendees were able to have more discussions on issues they are facing in their workplaces. These were wide-ranging and led to lively comment and feedback.

Left to right: Cllr Mike Curtis, Bridget Brook, Sandra Gidley, Cllr John Ray
Ruth Gower-Smith and Richard Frost (Mindful Employer)

This event was supported by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and funded by Big Lottery Funding.

(Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health is now the Centre for Mental Health)

Matt Brook ran  the Virgin London Marathon for the third consecutive year, finishing in 4 hours and 5 minutes. As at mid-May he has raised the amazing amount of £3300 (including gift aid) to support the work of Mind, the leading mental health charity. Many thanks to everyone – and if you still want to sponsor him please go to www.justgiving.com/mattbrookmarathon

Matt Brook, David Hewett and Bridget Brook were invited to a royal reception at St James’ Palace in recognition of their fund-raising and support for Mind, the leading mental health charity.

The reception celebrated 40 years of royal patronage by HRH Princess Alexandra and more than 60 years of Mind campaigning for good mental health for all. Mind’s president Lord Bragg gave an inspiring speech on Mind’s work tackling the stigma and taboo of mental health.

Matt, David and Bridget were able to speak with HRH Princess Alexandra about their fund-raising and the setting up of the charity Triangulate in Romsey to promote awareness of mental health issues in the workplace.

Bridget gave a talk on the setting up of Triangulate to the St Swithun’s and Romsey Abbey Womens’ Group – lots of questions were asked by the audience of almost 50.

We were invited to attend the Mind Annual Awards, held at the Institute of Architecture in London in May. Presentations were made by Lord Melvyn Bragg, President of Mind. The Mind Champion of the Year award was given to Alistair Campbell in recognition of his outstanding contribution to increasing understanding of mental health.

Bridget, Matt, Nick, Meghann and David at the Mind awards

Our sincere thanks go to everyone who supported Matt Brook and David Hewett in their marathon effort in April and for all the support you gave along the way. The money has now all been collected and we are delighted to report that £10,898 was raised to support the work of Mind, one of the leading mental health charities. Once gift aid is added the total comes to a staggering £13,200.

We are overwhelmed with the response from so many people – friends, colleagues and so many people who believe this is a cause worth running for – to every one of you thank you very much.

The day itself was quite amazing with thousands lining the route. The weather was warmer than the runners would have liked and with David’s knee still playing up, the decision was made to set a fastwalking pace – and so fast was it that the finishing line was reached in 4 hrs and 54 mins!

David and Matt proudly display their Marathon medals!