Mental Health Awareness Week 2021

Written by Ian Parkes, CEO of East London Business Alliance

Today is the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week. The purpose of the week, together with the Green Ribbon campaign and the associated “This is Me” initiative is to end the stigma attached to mental health. ELBA and BIG Alliance are supporters of those campaigns, as are many of our corporate supporters.

There has been a lot of attention given to the mental wellbeing impacts of the COVID pandemic and the lockdowns, and I suppose one positive thing to take is that we are at least all talking about it. Isolation, loneliness, losing your job, school students being stuck at home – all are bound to put pressure on wellbeing. However, there are many positive stories as well – communities pulling together to ensure food for all, befriending the elderly, getting in touch with nature and taking up new interests.

This week, ELBA and BIG Alliance, along with our business and community partners, will be focusing on the factors that make for positive mental wellbeing. Working with the elderly and those suffering from dementia, so people have someone to talk to and have a laugh with. Having a nice place to live, so we are back outside with our business volunteers looking after the parks and open spaces which have been so important during the lockdowns. And helping to refresh and prepare adventure playgrounds so children and young people have somewhere to go to meet each other outside school and get the benefits of physical exercise as well. The business volunteers are doing a great job in the community, and of course, there is evidence that shows how volunteering in itself can help with positive mental wellbeing.

If you want to get involved, get in touch with ELBA or BIG Alliance, and there are also lots of resources on line:

Mental Health Awareness Week

Green Ribbon Campaign

This is Me

Together we can end the stigma of mental health.