Meet George!
Quite literally, “The Elephant in the Room” when I visited Brereton Library back in March and met with a group of incredible volunteers who all shared the belief that, even in a library, talking about it makes a difference.
That morning, I had the privilege of talking to people that are making a huge difference to the lives of many in the Cannock and Rugeley area by, you’ve guessed it, talking.
Brereton Library hosts a Place of Welcome every Thursday morning between 9.30am – 12.30pm where everyone is welcome to come in for a cuppa and a chat; just like all Places of Welcome groups. But today was a little bit different!
As part of this year's Time to Talk Day, (which was Thursday 6 February) Cannock Chase Mental Health Hub hit the road and began the Places of Welcome Tour 2025! The initiative aims to promote health and wellbeing across the district in a variety of ways; such as encouraging community connections and providing resources to improve mental and physical health to all.
Today, the tour stop was Brereton and where I enjoyed a cuppa and a chat with Jacquie who started volunteering at the Cannock Chase Mental Health Hub back at the start in 2018 when it was a group of people who met at the pavilion in Hednesford Park and chatted about their personal experiences of mental health.
“I have always volunteered since we did an event for Time To Change that aims to break down the stigma of Mental Health. We did an event where we went into local supermarkets and had a box where people could write their problems down and then we had another day in a Weatherspoons where we had this box and just to chat. It is about chatting and breaking down the stigma.”
Jacquie tells me how important talking and breaking down this stigma really is to her.
“I have had lived experience, and, in the past, I have been a little bit guarded about telling people as I know other people have more going on than I have, but you should never be ashamed of who you are. Being able to talk and express who you are, if you suffer with your Mental Health, people will have a better understanding of what it is you’re going through and that you are not just isolating yourself for no reason.”
And if ever there is a place where talking is actively encouraged, it’s a Place of Welcome!
Jacquie and Lynne got the idea of going in to talk to people as Jacquie regularly attends a Place of Welcome at Cannock library on Mondays. The idea of the tour started as
“there were people coming in and they shared their mental health problems, especially men, to have someone to chat to, well that’s very important. Older men were happy to come and have a chat, and it would develop, and let them talk freely in that space as they might not feel that can do that in other aspects of their lives.
“And it is really useful that this happens in a Place of Welcome, as that person will want to come back again and engage with others at the group. Talking about mental health helps to break down the stigma surrounding it.”
Jacquie previously worked with vulnerable people and for her, helping people comes from that and she feels helping people is very rewarding; you become involved and care about people and want to make a difference. She is open about her own lived experiences of poor mental health and is a true advocate for speaking openly about it, as it makes a difference both to the individual and to help break down the stigma that, sadly, still exists around mental health.
Sitting across the table, I have another brew and a chat with Lynn Evans, Community Engagement Officer for Cannock Chase Mental Health Hub. Lynn tells me she belongs to the Friends of Hednesford Park, a voluntary organisation that has been running since 2011 and started very organically as a drop in on a Wednesday – very similar to a Place of Welcome.
Lynn tells me that she believes in partnership working and, as time has gone on, she now
“has an army of different organisations working as a partnership providing different things most days.”
She goes on to say how passionate everyone is in their roles, dedicating hours of voluntary work on top of paid work; everyone being part of a team as they are interested in the community. Lynn is clearly passionate about community groups, community as a whole and that networking is the key.
As part of Cannock Chase Mental Health Hub, Lynn encourages everyone to try everything, to find out what they like and, when there might be certain aspects of that group or activity that don’t fit, Lynn is on hand to help transition that person into something that is right for them. Cannock Chase Mental Health Hub was born out of the group in Hednesford; with likeminded people, seeing there was a need and seeing they could make a difference. In Lynn’s words
“it evolved by the right people being in the right place at the right time. Cannock Chase Council signed up in 2017 to Time to Change, which was a national movement run by Rethink and Mind. They saw that the biggest issue was the stigma was around mental health, and they wanted employers to sign up to say that they supported good mental health, encourage people to stand up and not be afraid to admit they were struggling and become Mental Health Champions”.
Lynn shares with me a very personal story of her own experiences of mental health issues and the conversation turns to how people can get involved and find out more about Cannock Mental Health Hub. I learn that networking and partnership working is crucial to keeping community groups going, to ensure they are there to support local people that are struggling in one way or another. I realise that the amount of work Lynn and many Community Officers like her do across the region is incredibly challenging, yet also phenomenally rewarding too.
Equally outstanding is the work of the volunteers that give up hours of time to help others in their communities, like Anne and Joe Thacker, volunteers at the Changing Rooms Counselling Service run from The Church of the Holy Spirit, Etching Hill.
Anne and Joe themselves have no qualifications in counselling however they support the operation of this free Talking Therapy initiative, run by qualified Counsellors that deals with such issues as depression and bereavement on a voluntary basis. They go on to tell me
“it was started by David and Clara, both fully trained counsellors, in 2018. On moving to the area from London, David discovered there were no fully trained counsellors working in Rugeley. As the Vicar of St Augustine’s, the first three funerals he attended were suicides.”
Soon after, David and Clara set up a counselling service from St Augustine’s and it was clear very early on that there was a need for such a service.
“And then Covid came along! There was more demand but there was the social distancing restrictions so counselling had to move to zoom”
The counselling service sadly stopped after David and Clara moved out of the area to relocate, however, two other fully trained counsellors, Margaret and June saw that there was a gap. Recognising that it was a needed service, they got together with The Church of The Holy Spirit, Etching Hill who agreed to provide rooms. Joe tells me
“the organisation is secular but the church is brilliant in in providing premises and they have a bank of volunteers to help with the opening of the church and turning the heating on etc. Changing Rooms is not a religious organisation; it works for free, by newly qualified counsellors doing their 100 hours of consultations to get their accreditation and practice”
June has links with colleges and runs the service; Anne and Joe reiterate that they are “just” volunteers and have very little involvement with the service; I remind than that volunteers like themselves are crucial to the running of any service! Anne and Joe tell me they
“talk to people coming in for counselling, if they want to talk, as person to person.”
The counselling sessions run on a Tuesday morning, alongside the Place of Welcome session, and again on a Friday and rely on volunteers; recruitment for which is ongoing! You can find out more about how you can become a volunteer or get more information on the Changing Rooms Counselling service by calling the phone number on the banner, pictured above.
And George…? Along with all the incredible individuals I spoke to today there is no getting away from the fact that George is the elephant in the room, albeit a large pink cuddly one. There is still a metaphor that needs addressing, as stigma around mental health remains. It is lessening with each conversation, each awareness raising event, social media campaign and with every celebrity who opens up about their personal experience; but we need to do more. Talking about it makes a difference and not being afraid to open those channels of communication is key.
During May, the Strengthening Communities team highlighted Mental Health Awareness Week and we Wore It Green as a larger Diocesan team based at St Mary's House to raise money and the profile of how addressing Mental Health matters every day.
If you take one thing away from this blog, take away the courage to start a conversation about mental health. Ask someone how they are, how they are feeling, what’s on their mind. Recognise your own thoughts and emotions, be brave to talk to someone about them. Don’t ignore, don’t pretend or push down feelings that are difficult to address.
Let’s address George.