Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 runs from the 9^th to 15^th May.

FPCR staff as well as some kind volunteers are doing a sponsored Paddle Board/Kayak/canoe in aid of the Mental Health Foundation and their efforts to raise awareness of and combat loneliness (as well as other form of mental illness). This will comprise of a number of events including teams in the East Midlands, Devon and the South East over the weekend of the 14^th and15^th May. The idea is to have some relatively challenging routes for us beginners, which will likely take a day to complete.

The Midlands route will be between 16 and 18km and will take in the River Trent as well as some surrounding watercourses. 

The Exeter team will be taking on the Exeter Canoe and kayak route of between 14 and 17km. 

The Dorking team are likely to be taking on a similar challenge. 

We will be posting detailed information about the routes and preparation involved in the next week, please check back in to this page to see what’s happening. Please donate if you can, it is very much appreciated. 

Loneliness affects millions of people in the UK every year
and is a key driver of poor mental health. The Foundation’s Mental Health in the Pandemic research has found that loneliness has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. The Foundation has been tracking loneliness levels in the UK during the pandemic and found the experience has been much higher with devastating impact. Loneliness has been an important factor contributing to higher levels of distress, resulting from people’s sense of isolation and reduced ability to connect with others. Further polling also found that loneliness was one of the leading issues that the public felt needed to be addressed.

The week will raise awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental wellbeing and the practical steps we can take to address it.  Reducing loneliness is a major step towards a
mentally healthy society.

The Mental Health Foundation is the UK’s charity for everyone’s mental health. With prevention at the heart of what they do, the Mental Health Foundation aim to find and address the sources of mental health problems so that people and communities can thrive.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/news/mental-health-foundation-announces-loneliness-theme-mental-health-awareness-week-2022#:~:text=Awareness%20Week%202022-,Mental%20Health%20Foundation%20announces%20'loneliness'%20as%20theme%20for,Mental%20Health%20Awareness%20Week%202022&text=The%20Mental%20Health%20Foundation%20has,until%20Sunday%2015%20May%202022

.Thanks to Stu Jukes for his expertise and guidance