Walsall marks World Mental Health Day and World Homeless Day

Colleagues and volunteers from organisations across Walsall have put their best foot forward to shine a light on homelessness and mental health.

Around 60 people joined the walk, which had been organised by One Walsall, to mark World Mental Health Day and World Homeless Day.

The event started at Walsall Art Gallery and ended at the Arboretum, with stops along the way to hear from people across all sectors, who see the impact of homelessness and mental health on a daily basis.

Vicky Hines, CEO of One Walsall, said: “The issues of homelessness and mental health continue to be a major national and local challenge.  Partners across the third sector and statutory sector work locally together across the borough  to tackle these issues and the walk presents a great opportunity to bring various people together to raise awareness and look at more opportunities to work in partnership.”

Fay Shanahan, whg’s Corporate Director of Operations and IT, said: “This walk is so important as it helps to shine a light on the issue of homelessness and mental wellbeing, issues that we, as a responsible social housing provider, are passionate about.  We are committed to helping build resilient communities and work closely with our partners, including voluntary organisations, to support customers facing these challenges.

“We have an ambition not to evict anyone into homelessness and provide our own support services to help our customers sustain their tenancies, but there are people not in a whg home, maybe living in a private rented property, where support like this might not be so visible.  This walk highlights that there is support across Walsall, regardless of your circumstances, provided by organisations who are as committed as us to preventing homelessness and helping to support with mental wellbeing. There are local community associations all over Walsall, and other groups, who can help. No one needs to suffer in silence.”

The walk culminated at the Clock Tower, where Restoration Therapy, a member of One Walsall, formally launched the opening of the organisation.

Nordia Philpott, CEO of Restoration Therapy said “I’m so amazed and grateful to be able to launch Restoration Therapy’s very first building on World Mental Health Day, in collaboration with One Walsall. Having a building that provides counselling for all has been a dream of mine from a young age. I hope that as we resurrect the Clock Tower, an iconic building in Walsall, we can help many in our area through their mental health challenges. Thank you to One Walsall for their support and here’s to making a difference in Walsall.”