Mental Health Awareness Week starts on 13 May and there are multiple services around South Yorkshire to provide support.
Both Sheffield Flourish and ‘Mums Understanding Mums’ ,in Barnsley, are charities which have a number of services in place to support their communities.
Sheffield Flourish is a mental health charity, which works collaboratively with community enterprises to provide support and want to remind people they are not alone this awareness week.
Mrs Thompson-Cox said: “What’s special about Flourish is that a lot of our staff have lived in experience, including myself, so I use my story to show other people that you can come out at the other end of it, by tapping into the right skills.”
Lisa Thompson-Cox, volunteer coordinator and community engagement coordinator at Flourish, said: “We mix digital with community. The community aspects are working with the enterprises that have activities each week, majority of which are run in our building.”
These activities are open to anyone who is struggling. Some of these groups include; Brunsmeer Awareness FC, Oasis gardening, creative arts enterprises and Flippin Mental Theatre.
The organisation has a suicide prevention website which supports those dealing with it themselves, and family who may have lost someone to mental health struggles.
Mrs Thompson-Cox will be attending the ‘Baton of Hope’ event in Sheffield on 28 June, in which a baton travels around the UK to raise awareness and reduce stigma for mental health.
There’s support available for everyone in South Yorkshire, ‘M.U.M’ in Barnsley is a support group for pregnant women or new mums who are struggling with their mental health. Some of their services include distraction techniques from anxiety, art therapy and mindfulness.
Yasmeen Akhtar, 52, who founded M.U.M in 2015 urged people to talk to professionals this awareness week.
She said: “Asking for help doesn’t make you a bad mum, it makes you a good one, you’re acknowledging it and wanting to do the right thing. It’s not us, it’s about the mums, they understand each other and can help each other.”
Call Sheffield Flourish on 0114 273 7009 and M.U.M on 01226 432 193 to learn more about the services available.