Championing Mental Health in the Cotswolds
We're committed to improving the mental health of communities and tackling some of the wider determinants of good mental health and preventing mental illness.
Cotswold District Council is committed to improving the mental health of communities, tackling some of the wider determinants of good mental health and preventing mental illness.
Cllr Jenny Forde, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Public Safety, brought a motion before full council at its meeting this week, to bolster council involvement in championing positive mental health throughout the Cotswolds.
To support this aim, the council has signed up to the Local Authorities’ Mental Health Challenge to encourage and support local leadership for mental health and wellbeing amongst residents, particularly those in rural communities.
Cllr Jenny Forde, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Public Safety, said: “One of our priorities as a Council is to ensure a high level of mental health and wellbeing in our residents, and we mean it!
“In order to achieve that, we need to be thinking about building personal resilience in everything that we do and especially in areas we might not usually associate with mental health.”
To ensure a high level of mental health in the Cotswolds, the council has appointed an elected member as ‘mental health champion’ who will be supported by a lead officer to ensure the issue is addressed across all services.
The council has also committed to support positive mental health in the community, local schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces.
Some of the key aims for the council moving forward are to reduce inequalities in mental health throughout the district; to work with local partners to offer appropriate and effective support to those who need it; and to tackle mental health discrimination in our community.
For more information around the Mental Health Challenge, please visit: http://www.mentalhealthchallenge.org.uk/