It’s World Mental Health Day and we’re taking the time to stop and think about how we can do our bit.

Welcome Stores has been partnered up with Solent Mind for a couple of years now, successfully raising just over £3,500.

But our support goes beyond financial

Last summer a group of managers from Welcome stores headed to Mayfield Nurseries – a facility owned by Solent Mind to offer new skills to those living with mental and physical health issues. Despite the sore backs, we had a great time – you can see some of the photos we took from the day here.

At its grass roots, we know that good mental health is important to living life to its fullest – at home and at work. It’s one of many reasons Welcome Stores chose to partner with Solent Mind in the first place. It was a timely pairing, especially as we endured long lockdowns of the pandemic and time separated from loved ones took its toll.

We must of course thank all of those on the front line who continued to keep this country moving – including our own staff who worked tirelessly to ensure everyone in the community was well-looked after, no matter how old they were or how vulnerable they were.

As such, we were pleased to hear that for World Mental Health Day this year, Solent Mind will begin a campaign to attempt to close the gap on mental health inequalities.

Many people from varied backgrounds and for varied reasons face barriers when it comes to accessing mental health support. Whether it be as simple as geography, lack of access to technology, language barriers, gender-based stigma, and many more.

Starting today and in the weeks to follow, Solent Mind will be pushing out various messaging on its website and social media channels – so please do keep an eye out for that.

Sam Clarke, Communications and Marketing Lead, said: “Over the coming weeks, we will be highlighting some of the issues that are preventing people from accessing our services, and mental health services as a whole. By starting this conversation, we hope to raise awareness and start learning how to close the gap in these mental health inequalities.” For more information about Solent Mind, head to their website www.solentmind.org.uk