We've all seen the headlines and we've all heard about the rise of Bristol student suicides in recent years. We need greater awareness of free mental health resources in Bristol. This year I’ve decided to fundraise for Bristol Mind (https://bristolmind.org.uk/). This charity, though affiliated to National Mind, receives no direct funding from it, and makes their own decisions about the services they provide.

In July 2019, I will sponsor Bristol Mind by walking 124 miles over 4 days (50km a day) in the Netherlands. This is part of an event that holds up to 50,000 people in the city of Nijmegen. The event is called the Vierdaagse, or ‘The International Four Day Marches’ (https://www.4daagse.nl/en/). I’ll post updates from all my training walks.

Bristol Mind provides free, local mental health services to those who need it - including MindLine (a freephone, out-of-hours listening service), Meeting Minds (a low-cost counselling service), Training Project (courses promoting awareness, wellbeing, and recovery), Community Outreach Advocacy, Independent Mental Health Advocates, Independent Mental Capacity Advocate and Deprivation of Liberties Service, MindLine TransLine+, Hate Crime Services, Woman Without Borders, and a free information and signposting service.

Bristol Mind is a great resource for those struggling with mental health. Their helplines are dependent on donations to stay open.

• £1 buys a Mind booklet
• £5 sends out an info pack for a carer
• £10 peer support call
• £15 supporting & signposting a crisis call
• £20 a MindLine call from a caller in distress
• £25 a Mindfulness training session
• £30 supports an ATOS Assessment
• £150 training an Advocacy/MineLine volunteer