We’re delighted to announce that, out of 48 nominees, Suffolk Mind came second in National Mind‘s first-ever Innovation Prize.

In Mind’s words, the prize – awarded earlier this month – was designed to:

• Capture the nuggets of great ideas across the network [of local Minds]
• Showcase projects that can easily be replicated or scaled up across the network
• Celebrate the innovation happening across the network

Suffolk Mind won for our upcoming e-learning platform, which is soon to be unveiled as part of our new workplace wellbeing training programme: The Mental Health Toolkit.

This new service will enable attendees of any of our courses to continue their wellbeing development after their course ends.

To be among the first to find out when this exciting new project launches, sign up to our newsletter for organisations, or follow The Mental Health Toolkit on LinkedIn.

We’d like to send our hearty congratulations to:

• Washington Mind, who came first, for Ray’s Corner, a project that is “a place where anyone can visit and find information about accessing support and local services. Whether people feel they are ready to access services yet, or are just looking for self-help tips, this safe space will be available for all in our communities.”
• Lancashire Mind, who came third, for their event Mental Elf, a festive fundraising fun run

An award-winning director of a haulage giant in Suffolk has been announced as patron for Suffolk Mind, the local independent mental health charity for the county.

Olly Magnus, Chief Executive Officer at Magnus Group, has taken on the role following his own struggles with mental health.

Olly hit the news in early 2021 with his viral ‘This Man’ post, highlighting the various pressures, struggles and worries he has experienced over the past 25 years.

He has since gone on to be named as one of Archant’s top 100 influential people in Suffolk, as well as winning Director of the Year at the Suffolk Business Awards.

Olly joins Lord Dennis Stevenson as one of Suffolk Mind’s two patrons.

On his new appointment, Olly said, “I’m delighted to be named as patron for Suffolk Mind and to help the charity’s mission in being open and transparent when it comes to mental health.

“Having faced my own mental health battles, I know first-hand how important Suffolk Mind’s services and training are to those in Suffolk and across the UK.

“I’m excited to help in the charity’s mission to make Suffolk the best place in the world for talking about and taking care of mental health.”

Suffolk Mind works throughout Suffolk delivering services and mental health training to people across the mental health continuum.

Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind, Jon Neal, was named alongside Olly in Archant’s top 100 influential people in Suffolk.

Jon said: “Olly’s openness around his personal mental health challenges, as well as his charitable work and Suffolk business connections, meant we felt that he would be a great fit for Suffolk Mind.”

Suffolk Mind’s Chair of Trustees, Ian White of Beckett Investment Management Group, said: “We need mental health advocates like Olly to help support our vital work and we’re delighted to see him join us as a patron.”

Introducing The Mental Health Toolkit: a new service from Suffolk Mind offering mental health training to businesses.

We’re launching on World Mental Health Day, at a time when wellbeing has worsened for more than two thirds of people in Suffolk.

The Mental Health Toolkit is a series of live virtual training courses to help businesses and organisations promote and support mental wellbeing in the workplace.

Our recent research reveals 65% of people in Suffolk are not meeting their emotional needs as of September 2022. This is compared to 50% at the start of the year.

Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind, said: “The reduction in people meeting their needs is concerning, and shows there is work to be done to highlight the ways we can support our mental wellbeing.

“As we spend most of our time in the workplace, whether that’s in person or remotely, it’s important to have a safe environment where our mental health is looked after.

“With The Mental Health Toolkit, employers can gain the skills needed to ensure their workforce is supported, as well as being able to identify when colleagues are facing challenges.”

The charity says people should aim to meet 12 emotional and physical needs for positive wellbeing. This includes sleep, movement, community and more.
Through The Mental Health Toolkit, businesses and individuals have access to various courses, including The Essentials, Supporting Colleagues’ Mental Health and Stress Management.

Each course is designed around helping people meet their needs and giving them the tools to support those arounds them.
Karen Holmes, Head of Development and Partnerships at Suffolk Mind, said: “The beauty of the training provided by The Mental Health Toolkit is it can be put into practice by anyone.

“Not only does it provide easily digestible skills to support us in our professional environments, but those skills can also be adopted to our personal lives, as well as being used to support our loved ones.

“It’s not just the people who benefit too. When a business has a happy and well-supported workforce, it will experience improved productivity and staff retention.”

Businesses and organisations interested in training from The Mental Health Toolkit can visit our new website or email us.

Suffolk Mind has made the final shortlist of five for UK Employer of the Year: Accredited in The Investors in People Awards 2022.

In a record-breaking year for entries, with over 3,000 organisations involved, this is an outstanding achievement and one that everyone at Suffolk Mind is proud of.

The Investors in People Awards celebrate the very best organisations and individuals across various organisational, people, wellbeing and leadership categories.

Each year, hundreds of organisations from the UK and abroad battle it out to take home one of the sought-after trophies to show their award-winning commitment to #MakeWorkBetter.

Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind, said:
“It is a privilege to be shortlisted for this award, and a clear indication of the dedication and hard work the team has invested.

“As a mental health charity that sells our expertise through workplace wellbeing training, it’s great to be recognised for walking the walk, as well as talking the talk.”

Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People, commented:
“In what has been the biggest and most competitive year so far, it always makes me feel immensely proud to see so many fantastic organisations and individuals staking their claim to be the best. And every year, the entries do get more and more competitive and the judging even tighter. Reaching the final shortlist is a testament to the amazing commitment these organisations are making to make work better for their people, and they truly deserve this recognition.”

The winners of The Investors in People Awards 2022 will be announced at a black tie gala ceremony on the 15th November at Old Billingsgate in London.

Here’s the full shortlist and more information about Investors in People.

Suffolk Mind has been selected by MAD-HR as their charity partner for the forthcoming Suffolk Chamber Prestige Dinner.

Here, Carole Burman, the company’s founder and managing director, explains why our work resonates in her daily business life, and why she’s eager to see our charity benefit from this significant East of England event.

“Let me share with you the uncomfortable truth about the world of HR, and about lessons learned from 30 years of experiencing how ‘people manage people’.

The truth?

Well, the truth is pretty unedifying upon reflection.

When I entered the profession in the early 1990s, you wouldn’t have seen a manager giving much due consideration to the mental health and wellbeing of their staff.

On the whole, most leaders in the workplace paid little attention to emotional needs among employees. Instead, many considered the role of HR to be predominantly the ‘hire and fire’ function and little else.

What pleases me most about my sector, is that we’re now so far from that disappointing approach to human support and welfare.

And indeed, as someone who has now been at the helm of an award-winning HR business in Suffolk for the last 8 years, I can tell you that most bosses, leaders, founders and entrepreneurs, do ‘get it’, and do want to positively support their staff’s mental health in every way.

That’s why myself and my fellow director Charlotte Bate are so drawn to the work of Suffolk Mind, and why we find ourselves referencing the charity’s core Emotional Needs framework when we speak to our many clients across various sectors in this region.

Indeed, it’s exactly why we wanted them to be our charity partner for the forthcoming Suffolk Chamber Prestige Dinner.

As sponsors of this event, it was an opportunity for us to introduce a charitable element, or, if you like, a ‘spotlight’ on a cause of such significance for the audience and for our wider community.

We want every person attending the dinner to hear the words of Suffolk Mind and to be reminded how vital it is that those of us in business do all we can to preserve our own wellbeing, and that of our colleagues, co-workers, neighbours, friends and family.

If you will be joining us for this special occasion – which notably includes a keynote speech from none other than Harry Redknapp – we hope you’ll find the occasion to be a sociable and enjoyable one. We also that you’ll take away some timely reminders about caring for your own mental health and needs as we head toward what is certain to be a really challenging period for some.

If you’re unable to join us, do please keep in touch with us to hear about future events in conjunction with Suffolk Mind, and of course, reach for the resources provided by the charity whenever you need them.”

Carole Burman, Founder and Managing Director, MAD-HR

One of our GreenCare gardeners, Sharon, has been praised for her courage after overcoming anxiety to volunteer at the Chelsea Flower Show in May.

Ipswich-based Sharon was unable to leave her flat alone before being referred to Suffolk Mind’s GreenCare service in 2019, which uses allotments as a tool to improve mental health and promote discussion about wellbeing.

Those boundaries were broken last month however, after she blossomed as a volunteer at Mind’s garden at this year’s show in the grounds of Royal Hospital Chelsea.

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As part of Volunteers’ Week 2022, Claire Stone, one of our glorious GreenCare gardeners, shares her experience of volunteering with our allotment project.

Keen gardener Claire Stone has been volunteering with Suffolk Mind’s GreenCare service for three years, offering support to service users looking to find their green thumb.

The service runs three allotments across Suffolk, using gardening as a means to improve the mental health and wellbeing of its users.

Claire, who volunteers at the Ipswich allotment, said she has never looked back since her first session in July 2019.

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Active Suffolk and Suffolk Mind have formalised their partnership in a joint effort to improve mental health through physical activity in Suffolk over the next year.

The latest figures released in a report from Suffolk Mind, indicates that the mental health of people in Suffolk has worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic, detailing that more than half of us are still not, on average, meeting our emotional needs, which means we are experiencing stress and more at risk of mental ill health.

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Suffolk Mind is encouraging people to connect with each other this Christmas after research shows a continued and concerning decline in people’s mental wellbeing.

The latest report from Suffolk Mind shows that around 70% of people in Suffolk are still not, on average, meeting their emotional needs. This means more than two out of every three of us are experiencing stress and are at risk of mental ill health.

Before the pandemic hit, one in four of us (or 25%) experienced a mental health problem in any given year – so this figure is nearly triple what it was before Covid-19.

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The CEO of Suffolk Mind will be taking on 100 miles for Suffolk Mind – in 100 days to raise money and awareness for the mental health charity, as well as supporting his own mental health and wellbeing.

Jon Neal is taking on the popular challenge, from January 1, 2022, to motivate himself to get moving throughout the winter months. Jon will be running a mile a day to get him to the springtime.

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A project run by Suffolk Mind has been so inspiring for three of its participants that they have been encouraged to get their own allotments, to benefit their mental health.

Suffolk Mind’s GreenCare project includes allotments in Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich which offer people the opportunity to learn about gardening and contribute to the creation of a thriving growing space that benefits everyone.

Sharon has been attending the allotment project in Ipswich for three and a half years. Before she came along to the group, she was unable to go out because she had bad anxiety. She said: “I was getting anxious and my life was going nowhere, I was too scared to go out and meet people, I couldn’t even go into town without having anxiety. I used to feel sick when I was in a crowd.”

“I read a lot about gardening and mental health, and I found the GreenCare project on the Suffolk Mind website. Since coming here, I’ve got the confidence to do things that I never thought I’d do. I still do have difficult days, but they’re not so common now, or as severe.”

“Coming to the group inspired me to get my own allotment as I felt so good after spending just a few hours here, I really wanted to do more of it. It is so amazing growing your own things, I feel so happy and am bouncing with energy after a few hours on my allotment.”

Claire is a volunteer on our Ipswich allotment project and feels such a great sense of achievement from coming along to the group to support others. She said: “I saw something wonderful on a television programme about the link between gardening and mental health and I wanted to get involved in something to make a difference. It’s great to see the magic of seeing things grow, you feel a real connection with nature.”

“We got our own allotment in May and it’s so peaceful, you are really concentrating on one thing at a time, so it’s a really good place to think things over or clear your head. Coming to the group helps too as I will get some advice on how to grow things and I then I go to my allotment to use those skills”.

Laura joined the allotment in Bury St Edmunds in 2019: “Attending the group has really helped my confidence. A friend spurred me to go with her, but I didn’t speak to anyone at the start, but being outside makes me feel safe. There’s no pressure on the allotment, if it gets too much, you can escape when you need to and go off and do some weeding. It is an ideal environment to get my confidence back.

“In the last three years everything has just changed, I’m working now, I have a personality and I can speak in front of people. Don’t get me wrong I still have some horrendous times, but I feel I have gained more confidence.”

Laura has put her name down for her own allotment in Bury St Edmunds. She continued: “Having my own allotment will be a good form of escapism for me and have it as my own project. There’s something in nurturing a piece of land and growing things, you feel attached to what you are growing.”

For more details about the GreenCare project, to self-refer to the service, or become a volunteer, click here.

A local actor has spoken about his own mental health struggles during a hard-hitting film released by Suffolk Mind.

The independent mental health charity has created the film portraying a fictional story, based around real struggles people go through. It’s to highlight the vital impact that support from services like Suffolk Mind can have on someone’s life.

Paul Goldsmith, shared his own struggles during filming and wanted to communicate these experiences as part of the film, to show that anyone can face periods of mental ill health.

Paul suffered a nervous breakdown which had a huge impact on him and his family. He said: “I closed myself off to all around me, including my children. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, not physically but mentally. I didn’t want them to see me failing, to see me low, after all, I’m a daddy and I should be a superhero, right?

“This led me to go deeper and deeper into myself, which in turn allowed the demons to attack more as their voice became the loudest. I became a shell of myself, no confidence, no drive or motivation.

“It became a very dark period and one that now I know could have been completely prevented if I’d have just taken time for myself; to understand that self-care isn’t selfish, that it’s ok to not be ok. That it’s a power and strength to stand up and say ‘my world isn’t right, I need to make some change.”

Lizzy Tuthill, Fundraising Coordinator at Suffolk Mind said: “We are so grateful to Paul for speaking about his mental health as part of this video; unfortunately, Paul is not alone in his experiences.

“Suffolk has a population of 750,000 and typically almost 200,000 will need mental health support at some point. We want to be able to help all those who need us, and also reduce the number of people who need that support in the future. With the help of the Suffolk community, through donations and gifts in Wills, we can help each person not only now, but for years to come.”

This film will be shown at a webinar hosted by Suffolk Mind on Thursday 2nd December, 1pm – 1.45pm, which aims to show the huge need for mental health support in our county, and what impact services that Suffolk Mind provide have on our community.

According to a report from Suffolk Mind, the mental health of people in Suffolk has worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic; more than half of us are still not, on average, meeting our emotional needs, which means we are experiencing stress and are at risk of mental ill health. Before the pandemic hit, one in four of us experienced a mental health problem in any given year – so this figure is still double what it was before Covid-19.

Jon Neal, Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind said: “We are inviting our commissioners, fundraisers, donors and supporters to our webinar, to show them the increasing need for mental health provision in our county and how their vital support helps thousands of people.

“Our research shows that although restrictions have eased, we are still seeing more people struggling with their mental health in Suffolk, than before the pandemic. We will share the reasons behind this, and how we can continue to keep supporting the community of Suffolk.”

Or to support us in our mission of making Suffolk the best place in the world for talking about and taking care of mental health, visit our Giving site.