World Mental Health Day

Making mental health a global priority

Mental Health Day takes place in October each year. Its  about raising awareness of mental health within the community and reducing stigma around mental health issues.

This year, the event will be taking place on 9 October 2010. The focus of the day is around promoting awareness of emotional wellbeing based on the five ways to wellbeing. These are:

Connect

Connect with the people around you. Social relationships are critical to our wellbeing.

Be active

Go for a walk or a run, step outside, cycle, play a game, garden, dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Exercise has been shown to increase mood and has been used successfully to lower rates of depression and anxiety.

Take notice

Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the usual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

Keep learning

Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun. Learning encourages social interaction and increases self-esteem and feelings of competency.

Give

Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone, smile, volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you. Studies in neuroscience have shown that cooperative behaviour activates reward areas of the brain, suggesting we are hard wired to enjoy helping one another. Individuals actively engaged in their communities report higher wellbeing and their help and gestures have knock-on effects for others

The activities this year are aiming to help people learn about activities, groups and services that can help to support their emotional wellbeing (feeling happy, good and positive), particularly if they have a long term condition such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, chronic pain, epilepsy, depression, anxiety or other mental health condition which may have an effect upon their emotional wellbeing.

Please contact clare.mayo@salford.gov.uk 
User Development Worker for Mental Health
Telephone: 0161 793 3832

Every year tens of thousands of people get together to make a difference in their communities for CSV Make a Difference Day, the UK’s biggest day of volunteering.  http://www.csv.org.uk/campaigns/csv-make-difference-day

This year it takes place on Saturday 30 October 2010 – and you can be part of it! Think big and organise your own activity for the campaign, or simply go along and volunteer for the day.

Registrations are now open for this year! Click here to add an activity

Cllr Warmisham with staff & resident who made garden possible.

Cllr Warmisham at plaque to commemorate opening.

A new community garden designed by older and vulnerable people at a sheltered housing scheme has opened today.

Residents at Lombardy Court in Pendleton, Salford, celebrated their new garden with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque and an official opening by ward councillor John Warmisham.

In December last year residents at Lombardy Court bid for a share of £35,000 funding from their housing landlords Salix Homes to build the garden.

It was one of 15 schemes chosen by other residents to receive the money.

The new facility hopes to encourage people to look after community areas and is an incentive for older residents to get outdoors.

Caretaking staff at Salix Homes helped residents to plant flowers as part of the company’s WIN Days initiative where employees get involved in community projects.

Raised planting beds have been put in so that wheelchair users and people with mobility difficulties enjoy the garden.

It has been landscaped with the help of Groundwork Salford and benches have been donated by Franklins.

Sue Sutton, Salix Homes’ head of neighbourhood services said: “The idea for the garden was put forward by residents and we’ve been able to make it possible by setting aside a dedicated budget for community projects.

“Before the garden there wasn’t an outdoor space that residents could really enjoy but now they have a place that they can call their own.

“Projects like this help to bring neighbourhoods together and we will be shortly opening up entries for another round of funding in the coming months.”

rossall way

Cllr Loveday and I have been after this for a long time. I hope it helps as the way cabs were waiting on the roundabout was an accident waiting to happen.

Cllr George Wilson Mayor of Salford & Mayoress with The Gypsy Story Teller outside her caravan

The Roma,Gypsy Traveller event held on Saturday at The Manchester Irish Centre was a great success, showing the culture and diversity of these communities. Also highlighted was the discrimination and abuse they also suffer.

Well done to all involved organising the event.

Creating a sustainable future in Salford

www.salford.gov.uk/biggreenfestival

I met with Tesco representitives today to discuss their

plans to build a new Tesco store in Pendleton. They are

planning to build the store on land next to Salford

Shopping City, between Fitzwarren St; Sedley Rd &

Pendleton Way.

I’m pleased that Tesco have agreed that the store will

bring 650 full and part-time jobs for local people. At least

half of those jobs will be reserved for the long-term

unemployed.

Tesco will be holding a public information event on Thursday24th June 2010 2pm – 8pm at St.Thomas Church, Ford Lane,Pendleton.

 The development team will be there to answer any questions and give information.

Photographic exhibition at
Salford Museum and Art Gallery

14 June to 18 July 2010
“Still here…
Traveller communities
in Manchester and
Salford”

The exhibition shows the enduring
heritage of families and individuals
from Traveller backgrounds and how
their history is part of the ongoing
narrative of this city’s life.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery

Peel Park, Salford M5 4WU

0161 778 0800.

For more information go to:

www.salford.gov.uk/exhibitions

Gypsy Roma Traveller Showman
History Month Event

Saturday 19 June 2010

12:00pm-3:00pm

Irish World Heritage Centre, Queens Road, Cheetham Hill
Come along and celebrate and find out more about the

GRT communities in Salford and Manchester.

 Highlights include:

Flamenco Dancer

Professional Storyteller

Life-size traditional Gypsy wagon

Roma portrait artist

Traditional Irish/Roma
music and singing

and much more…