Warwickshire County Councillors support “Time to Change”
Warwickshire county councillors backed the “Time to Change” campaign at Full Council yesterday.
Councillors individually signed up to show their support for the national campaign, which aims to end discrimination against people who experience mental health problems.
The Time to Change campaign is England’s biggest and most ambitious programme to end mental health discrimination. The campaign is run by leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink, and is backed by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust.
Trust chief executive Rachel Newson explained: “Stigma and discrimination ruin lives. They deny people with mental health problems the opportunity to live their lives to the full. They deny people relationships, work, education, hope and the chance to live an ordinary life that others take for granted.
“One in four people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives, and so may come across stigma often attached to mental health problems.
“The festival season is upon us, which is a time of joy and celebrations for many, but for some it may be a difficult time, with loneliness and money worries or mental illness. We want local people to show their support for this important campaign, and we are delighted that Warwickshire’s county councillors have shown their support in this way.”
Warwickshire County Councillor Bob Stevens, portfolio holder for health, said: “Discrimination against mental health can be difficult to notice, and even those discriminating may not be fully aware of what they are doing.
”It is a case of raising awareness on everyone’s part of the effects of mental health problems and how devastating they can be for the sufferer. Time to Change will look to do that and is a campaign we are more than happy to support.”
To find out more about Time to Change, please visit the campaign website at: http://www.time-to-change.org.uk.