Mental Health Awareness Week is a national annual event, providing an opportunity for the UK to openly discuss and raise awareness of mental health. The Mental Health Foundation started the event 23 years ago and each year the Foundation continues to set the theme, organise, and host the week. This year’s theme is Movement: Moving more for our mental health.

“Movement is important for our mental health. But so many of us struggle to move enough. We know there are many different reasons for this, so this Mental Health Awareness Week we want to help people to find moments for movement in their daily routines. Going for a walk in your neighbourhood, putting on your favourite music and dancing around the living room, chair exercises when you’re watching television – it all counts!” – Mental Health Foundation

For tips on how to boost mental health through movement, check out Mental Health Foundation’s website here. 

Other resources you may find useful:

Here’s what our teams are doing this week in honor of Mental Health Awareness week..

In Kirklees, the team’s Mental Health Practitioner is sharing daily resources, including information about available events and tips on how to move more. The team will also be participating in the Wear it Green Day, on the day they are planning to have an open discussion about mental health over their lunch and they’ve even set themselves a walking challenge!

The Calderdale and Bradford teams wished each other a happy mental health awareness week, with one of the team sharing the lovely message and image below.

“Everyone struggles with some form of mental health at some point in their life!!

This is so hard for many of us to admit and let people support you through the tough times, we are all good at giving advice and checking in on others, making sure everyone else is okay, whilst putting ourselves on the back burner!!

Just know that it is okay to not be okay!! I am always here to talk and listen or just be in the moment with you if you feel you are struggling.

Take some time just for you at some point this week to allow yourself to do something for you to refresh, recharge and reconnect with yourself.”

Our Service

As a service, we recognise the importance of being able to access the appropriate mental health support and appreciate the need for specialist knowledge. Mental Health Practitioners are appointed across all our teams, who are located within the community, court arena and secure estates across West Yorkshire. Our community Mental Health Practitioners aim to offer fair access to Mental Health services for those individuals who have come through police custody and signpost them to the appropriate services. Court Practitioners work closely with the National Prosecution Service by contributing to pre-sentence reports if mental health concerns are highlighted and can advise as to if mental health, learning disabilities and/or other complex needs have contributed to their offending behaviour. In 2023, we launched the West Yorkshire RECONNECT Service, a care after custody service that seeks to improve the continuity of care of people leaving prison or an immigration removal centre (IRC) with an identified health need. Mental Health Practitioners work within the RECONNECT team, undertaking intensive mental health and social care assessments, to identify those with health vulnerabilities and in need of support services on release and ensuring detailed care plans are in place.

Mental Health First Aid Training is offered to all staff and many are qualified Mental Health First Aiders. Thanks to the course provided by Mental Health First Aid, practitioners have further developed their skills to listen, reassure and respond and build on their ability to support someone in crisis or prevent someone from reaching that crisis point.  The course teaches people how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue. Find out more about Mental Health First Aid England here.

Local and National mental health services – click on the images to enlarge