Mental Health Awareness Week 2025
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday 12th May – Sunday 18th May.
When thinking about what to write in this Blog, I originally thought I would simply mention it is Mental Health Awareness Week, copy in a few links and signpost readers to other sites specialising in Mental Health. (which I will do anyway)
Before I got started however, I checked on our Host recruitment advert, running on Facebook, to see how the ad was doing and see if there was any comments or enquiries requiring a response. Amongst the genuine questions and enquiries, and amongst the usual (sad) negative comments about young people, asylum seekers and homelessness that I delete every morning (!!) was another negative comment that stood out; it went something like this:
“I don’t want some mental teenager in my house, grunting when I speak to them, staring at a screen, locking themself away in their room, no job, lazy”……….it went further, but you get the gist.
I deleted it, as I do when I see any stereotypical negative comment on our ad feed, but it really got me thinking, especially as it’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Everything I see and hear about managing mental health is about reaching out to someone you haven’t spoken with in while, it’s about using social media less, about doing something active, spending time with other people, doing something meaningful, getting active……..
Perhaps the young person who needs help, needs support, and would most benefit from Supported Lodgings is the young person who is currently lacking the confidence to engage in conversation, who finds ‘friends’ online as it is difficult in the real world, who needs encouragement to become more social, needs guidance to find their way in life.
So, thank you to the detractor who commented on our Host recruitment advert, you just reminded me of why it is so important to positively engage with people, even the ones we do not know, as we don’t know their story, we don’t know how they are feeling, and the stereotype is rarely accurate.
If you or someone you know is feeling a little low, or not spoken with someone for a while, get up, call a friend, go for a walk in a park, grab a coffee and have a chat…..it’s amazing how much difference it can make.
If you would like to more about becoming a Host, please see https://3bridgesolution.com/hosts/
For more on Mental Health: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
Interested in Youth Mental Health: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
Be a Hero – Offer Hope – and Host