Nottinghamshire Healthcare, the county’s leading mental health and learning disability Trust, will again be supporting this year’s Nottingham Mental Health Awareness Weeks, which returns for the 16th year, running from Sunday 5 October – Friday 17 October 2008.
The unique annual awareness weeks aim to reduce stigma and ignorance, and to help promote a greater understanding of mental health. The weeks are coordinated by the local multi-agency Mental Health Awareness Project.
As part of the awareness weeks, the Trust will be holding a number of events including the official launch event, an information drop-in session and an exciting and inspiring exhibition by people who use mental health services at The Broad Street Centre in Nottingham.
‘A Celebration of our Humanity’ is the official launch event of the Awareness Weeks, organised by the Trust’s Spiritual and Pastoral Care Service, which will be held on Sunday 5 October at 2.00pm in the Concert Hall, Highbury Hospital, and includes music, art, drumming and poetry.
The Trust’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services self-harm team will be providing a drop-in session on Monday 6 October, 9.30am - 11.00am, at Clifton Cornerstone, for parents and carers to find out more about emotional health and young people who self-harm.
The ‘Celebrating Creativity’ exhibition is being held at New College Nottingham’s Lace Market Gallery, 25 Stoney Street, Nottingham city centre. The exhibition aims to challenge people’s perceptions of mental health and features paintings, photographs, textiles and sculptures.
Commenting on the exhibition Kate Deamer, Project Development Worker at the Trust, says: “This is the fourth year the Trust has had a fantastic city centre exhibition space to promote the artistic talents of people who use our mental health services.
“The exhibition is both exciting and inspiring, and provides a great opportunity for people to come along and view some wonderful pieces of work that help to portray a positive image of mental health.”
‘Celebrating Creativity’ will be officially launched on Monday 6 October. Following the launch, the exhibition will be open Monday to Friday, 9.00am – 4.30pm, until Friday 17 October. Admission is free and all are welcome.
These are just a few of the events taking place during this year’s Nottingham Mental Health Awareness Weeks. A full listing of the programme of 30 events taking place over the awareness weeks is available at the bottom of this page.
