A new campaign has been launched across Cheshire and Merseyside with people urged to be kind to their minds during the Coronavirus outbreak. The campaign, developed by Champs Public Health Collaborative and the Cheshire & Merseyside Health & Care Partnership, will run in April 2020 and aims to support the mental wellbeing of people living and working in Cheshire and Merseyside.
The ‘Kind to your mind’ campaign will promote the new ALMA wellbeing website, an online portal with a suite of mental and physical wellbeing resources, that has been exclusively developed by Cheshire and Merseyside for Cheshire and Merseyside residents and workers.
The multimedia campaign, targeting key workers and the general public in Cheshire & Merseyside, will be promoted across a range of channels including radio, press and social media. People will be directed to a campaign microsite, kindtoyourmind.org, which will signpost to the national ‘Every Mind Matters’ website and the ALMA wellbeing portal.
A series of podcasts will also be developed covering topics such as building resilience, mental health, nutrition, physical activity and sleep. These will feature special interviews with experts and be promoted through targeted social media including Facebook and Instagram.
Sue Forster, Chair of the Champs Directors of Public Health group and lead for mental wellbeing said “Key workers and members of the public are likely to be feeling stress or anxiety at this difficult time as we make major changes to how we live and work. It is more important than ever that we look after our mental wellbeing and encourage others to do the same. This will help us during the pandemic and aid our recovery.”
Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West & Chester Council and lead Elected Member for Health and Wellbeing across Cheshire & Merseyside said “I am very pleased to see the launch of this campaign, it’s so important to support people at this difficult time whether they are staying at home, self-isolating or carrying out vital roles in helping our most vulnerable people.”
Sheena Cumiskey, Chief Executive of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Lead for Mental Health in Cheshire and Merseyside commented: “Taking care of your mind as well as your body is crucial. Complementing the launch of this wellbeing campaign are new telephone helplines for urgent mental health support, which will be available in each area of Cheshire and Merseyside. The helplines will operate 24/7 to enable people to receive appropriate and timely support.”
The campaign is due to launch on Monday 13th April and will run for six weeks.
For more information visit www.kindtoyourmind.org
