Today – 10th October 2019 – is World Mental Health Day. The theme this year is suicide prevention. The aim is to help break down stigma and encourage positive conversations around mental health. It is a day for raising awareness and highlighting services offering support.
SIS estimates that 25-30% of the 18,000 interpreting sessions we deliver annually involve mental health consultations. This ranges from issues of anxiety, and depression to complex treatment of trauma and psychosis. It is very important that people have access to face to face interpreters with a good mixture of appropriate empathy, professionalism and cultural knowledge.
Locally today was also an opportunity to launch `Community Roots`, a new network of services offering mental health and wellbeing support.
If you need support, or know somebody that does, please call Community Roots on freephone 0808 196 1768. The service has a contract to provide telephone interpreting . SIS is in conversation about how people with language support needs can access the range of support being offered following the initial referral.
Thank you to MIND Brighton & Hove who organised our walk and information sharing today – it was a great success and the atmosphere was supportive and encouraging.
Arran – Director
