Soon, very very soon and #StocktonUnderstands will be launched. Living with Poverty can be hard. Overcoming these barriers whilst feeling anxious and suffering from Mental Health issues seems impossible to deal with.
Man, woman, black, white or even grey or pink. It matters not about the skin tone, gender or religion but about the similarities we all go through on a daily basis. Job Seeker, Parent, Zero Hour Contracts- we all have a voice and it needs to be heard.
My own sign is to wear a hat, if I am wearing one it’s a bad day for me and I have been doing that a lot lately but I was literally given a wake-up call in the form of a nightmare that I’d rather avoid again. And yes it is extremely hypocritical of me to be a part of this Project at the moment but it has been 4 months in the making so far and I am rising above my own issues for the sake of others.
Basically, the idea is to try and get the WHOLE of Stockton to be a place of Safety for those with Mental Health. For far too long people have been quiet about this and it’s time to speak up. Time to be heard and understood. Soon we hope that every cafe will have a quiet corner for people to talk about their problems.
The shops have already started it with their quiet hour and so have the jobcentre but the next step will be the badges, those still need working on.
By Sarah Louise Lennon