Making an appearance at this year’s multi-cultural Leicester Caribbean Carnival was a ‘pop-up village’ with a difference thanks to Time to Change, England’s biggest mental health anti-stigma campaign, run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.

Visitors were treated to the usual eclectic mix of street performers, music and floats, as well as the Time to Change Village, which was staffed by volunteers with mental health problems including some from the Caribbean community. The village is a new concept to challenge mental health discrimination that will encourage people to talk more openly about mental health problems. The free event took place on Saturday 4th August at Victoria Park, Leicester.

Village facilities available included a library with a difference, a newsagent, a post office and even a cinema, however, each area has been designed so that members of the public can talk directly with people who have mental health problems. Evidence suggests that this kind of contact is one of the most effective ways of breaking down stigma and improving attitudes.

As part of the village, the library area is a ‘Human Library’ where living books can be loaned. The cinema showed short films and adverts that have been created to challenge discrimination. The post office included an interactive ‘community notice board’ to promote ways to get involved with Time to Change and other local mental health services. Carnival goers were also asked to post up their thoughts on how mental health discrimination can be tackled so that Time to Change can learn directly from the local community. There was also plenty of entertainment including face painting, arts and crafts and jewellery making provided by Mantle Arts.

To ensure the village provided support and information for people with mental health problems, Leicester Partnership NHS Mental Health Trust workers and other mental health charities ran ‘The Surgery’ where information on local and national services was available.

Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “By being at this event we are bringing people with and without mental health problems together to get new conversations started about mental health, which really helps to tackle stigma and misunderstanding. We want to work with the Caribbean community in the long term and we hope this event will encourage more people with mental health problems from the community to get more actively involved with the campaign.”

Saquib Muhammad, Clinical Divisional Director for Adult Mental Health Services at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust commented: “Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust fully supports activity which challenges the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

“Mental illness is common and one in four people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives.  Social stigma attached to mental ill health and the discrimination people experience can make their difficulties feel worse and make it harder to recover.

“If we can successfully tackle discrimination, people will find it easier to seek help and treatment for mental health problems and, in turn, will receive better support from their families, friends and communities.”

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For more information please contact Hayley Richardson, Time to Change Senior Media Officer, on [email protected] or 0208 2152 358/ 07789 721 966

Notes to Editors

Time to Change
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems.  The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief. 

Department of Health
On 2 February 2011 the Department of Health launched No health without mental health, a cross-government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages which has the twin aims of keeping people well and improving their mental health and, when people are not well, improving their outcomes through high-quality services.

The strategy is based on six shared objectives, developed with partners from across the mental health sector, and focuses on ‘Recovery’ and the reduction of stigma and discrimination as overarching themes. 

To help deliver the objective to reduce the stigma faced by people with mental health problems, in 2011 the Department agreed to support Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The Department of Health is providing the campaign with up to £16 million of funding together with a further £4 million from Comic Relief. This funding will help Time to Change continue their work until March 2015.

Comic Relief
Comic Relief is committed to supporting people living with mental health problems. The projects Comic Relief funds ensure people with mental health problems get their voices heard in the decisions that affect their lives and get the help they need to recover. Comic Relief also helps people to promote their rights and reduce the stigma and discrimination they face so that they feel more included in society.  The £4 million grant to Time to Change is the second time the charity has awarded Time to Change its largest UK grant and is part of Comic Relief's long standing commitment to this issue. For more information go to www.comicrelief.com