Publish date: 11 May 2022
The rain did little to stop a Trust-backed afternoon tea for service users as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.
The event was held at Salopian Gardens in Hounslow on Wednesday 11 May. The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week this year is loneliness.
The Trust teamed up with Cultivate London, a social enterprise and charity, to invite service users to the special afternoon tea event.
The event was attended by Ruth Cadbury MP for Brentford and Isleworth who was pleased to show her support.
She said: "Covid has made us all realise how valuable our open spaces and gardens are to maintaining good mental health. We are lucky to have this community provision at Salopian Gardens, it's particularly good to see the NHS using this wonderful community facility that so many people with mental health conditions clearly value. I've enjoyed meeting service users today and hearing how much they've enjoyed coming here and speaking with the many staff and volunteers."
The Trust's Mental Health Integrated Network Teams (MINT) use the space as a form of therapy for patients struggling with their mental health and the gardens welcome volunteers every Wednesday between 10am and 4pm.
Rob White, Service Manager for Community and Recovery Services, said: "I think it's really important we have been able to hold an event like this during Mental Health Awareness Week, bringing together staff, volunteers and service users as part of a single project. Initiatives like this will be key to addressing loneliness which can be a key driver in people's mental health and wellbeing. One of the big focuses of mental health services now and in the coming years is about how we work together with the local community partners to help people engage with their own communities, rather than focusing on purely clinical interventions."
During the event service users enjoyed tea, coffee and various homemade cakes.
Sinoun attended the event with her mother, one of the Trust's service users. She said: "Mum has been quite nervous and hasn't spent much time out and about due to Covid-19. I've helped her find the event today and we've walked around and had a good look at the garden and enjoyed some cakes."
You can find out more about Cultivate London here.
To find out more about the Trust's Mental Health Integrated Network Teams click here.
