Get involved and show your appreciation for others

Children, young people, families, schools and youth organisations are being encouraged to show their appreciation for others during this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week

The week, organised by the Mental Health Foundation, takes place from Monday to Saturday, 9-15 May, and offers an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health. 

The theme of this year’s campaign is loneliness and seeks to raise awareness of the impact it has on people’s mental wellbeing. 

And this year, HeadStart Wolverhampton is highlighting how showing appreciation for one another can help tackle loneliness and enable children and young people to achieve better mental health. 

During the week, HeadStart Wolverhampton will be sharing ways of how people can show their appreciation for each other on the second annual #YES Appreciation Day, which will take place tomorrow (WED 11 MAY). 

Getting involved is easy. Everybody is encouraged to get creative by showing their appreciation for another person or organisation in any way they want. This could be through video, photos, drawings, paintings or any other creative means. 

Their creations will be featured on HeadStart Wolverhampton’s social media pages - @HeadStartFM on Facebook and Twitter - on #YES Appreciation Day itself. To submit work ahead of the campaign, please email #yes@wolverhampton.gov.uk. People are also encouraged to get involved on the day by sharing their appreciation posts on social media using the hashtag #YESAppreciationDay. 

Councillor Beverley Momenabadi, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We have decided to use Mental Health Awareness Week as an opportunity to spread kindness, show our gratitude and give children and young people the chance to say a big thank you to those who have helped them. 

“We want all youngsters, families, schools and youth organisations to get involved and show their appreciation for others and #YES Appreciation Day, on 11 May, is the perfect way to do this – so I encourage everybody to take part.” 

For more details about Mental Health Awareness, please visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week.  

HeadStart Wolverhampton launched in 2016 thanks to £9.5m in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.  

The programme has helped children, young people and families living in four key areas of the city – Low Hill, Bushbury and The Scotlands; Blakenhall, All Saints, Parkfields and Ettingshall; Heath Town, Park Village, Eastfield, Springfield and Old Heath; and Bilston East. 

Through a test and learn approach, the programme has offered help, with the support of community providers, online services and schools, to improve the emotional wellbeing and mental health of 10-16 year olds in the city.  

Learning from the programme has already been embedded in city services such as Wolverhampton’s Youth Engagement Strategy (#YES), which launched in January 2020 and aims to help children and young people in the city feel healthy, connected and have the confidence to be themselves, as well as Yo! Wolverhampton, which aims to give young people in the city more opportunities and support with their mental health.