'Time to Change' was a successful one-week event for the Union with debates, signing of the pledge and much more. Read this article for more info on the events
Time to Change week
1 in 4 people are affected by a mental health problem in any year.
Time To Change was a one-week event to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination. Time To Change was a very successful event for the Union with a high number of students taking part in the different activities throughout the week.
Tuesday - Let's talk about stress and anxiety
In collaboration with Health Spark, we offered free body MOT, free massage as well as nutrition advice in the SU Bar foyer. 20 people attended the event (17 students, 2 Union staff members, 1 University staff member + VP Welfare).
Wednesday - Mental Health Debate
"Mental Health Debate: Enabling or labelling?" was attended by 13 people (11 students, 1 Union staff member (chair) + VP Welfare).
Thursday - Tea and Talk
Our Tea and Talk fundraising event enabled to raise £43.60 for charity and the Time To Change presentation and signing of the pledge was attended by 30 people (14 students, 7 Union staff, 4 University staff + 3 Sabbs & 2 external guests from Time to Change). This event was the opportunity to discuss how to end mental health discrimination and to pledge against discrimination within our organisation.
Friday - positivity tree and individual pledges
The last event of the week held in the concourse with a positivy tree and the opportunity for students to sign their individual pledge was a great success with 55 positive messages and 8 individual pledges from students and University staff.
Here are some examples of the positive messages we collected throughout the day;
"Be happy", "Smile, it's Friday", "You are not alone", "Love yourself, you are beautiful", "Everyday, be the best you can possibly be", "Life can be tough but there will always be someone or something to help you figure out where to go: live it to the full!", "I dare you: to smile at yourself in the mirror today", "When I believe in myself, so do others", "Rule number 1 of life: do what makes YOU happy".
For more information on our Time To Change campaign, please contact Simona Boeva, VP Welfare, at suwelfare@solent.ac.uk.