Caring, Connected, Communities: mental health and well-being at HWDT

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, so we thought we’d share our experience of the excellent Highlands & Islands Connections project, run by Support in Mind Scotland.

Over the past year HWDT have been participating in the project to explore ways to engage and support employees and volunteers with mental health and well-being in the workplace.

Our staff have taken part in i-act training for managers and four of our team have become mental health first aiders. Both courses were incredible.

Emma, Pauline, Becky and Alison after completing the mental health first aid training earlier this year.

We’ve learnt that small changes can be really worthwhile and it doesn’t need to be very complicated. Making time to talk, a lick of paint to brighten up a break room, or even a few office plants can make a positive difference and bring a smile. Spending time away from our usual work space can also be beneficial.

Making time for a team away-day was a real highlight as our team are rarely all together in the same place due to the nature of our work. We spent the morning at Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, one of our local Hebridean Whale Trail sites, where we were lucky enough to share a memorable minke whale sighting and then finished up with a beach clean at Sanna Bay.

The project also provided an opportunity to connect with other Mull-based businesses and charities who are working to improve community connections and mental well-being on the island.

A film about the project and groups involved Caring, Connected, Communities was released for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek. Filming finished just days before the country was placed in to lockdown due to Covid-19 and is a powerful reminder of the vital role communities play in our mental health.

As work is such a big part of everyone’s day to day lives and we felt that it was a really important to be part of a project which aimed to support positive mental health and general well-being in the workplace and the community.

It is only a starting point but we can already feel the positive impact of talking about mental health and well-being at work. Especially now as HWDT, like many other charities, face a challenging time ahead.

Find out more information about Highlands & Islands Connections project.