Pentreath's 'Relaunch Day' Takes Place At Kingsley Village
5 March 2007
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Cornish mental health charity Pentreath recently held a 'relaunch day' at Kingsley Village, with the objective of reminding health care professionals, job centre staff and others, of the range of opportunities provided for people in Cornwall who are recovering from mental ill health.
Following a keynote speech by Sandra Benjamin, Chairman of Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, members of staff from Pentreath gave presentations on their individual projects. The presentations were intended to keep the audience amused, as well as informing them, and so included a giant snakes and ladders board, which demonstrated both the pitfalls that can face someone wanting to return to work after experiencing mental health problems, and the 'ladders' provided by Pentreath, so that these barriers can be surmounted.
Another project subjected competitors in 'The Weakest Link' to a barrage of questions about mental ill health and discrimination. Those who failed to answer questions correctly were voted off the show without mercy. There were also a number of static exhibitions, where guests could discuss projects with the members of staff involved.
At the end of the day, visitors left having been both entertained and educated.
Pentreath's Chief Executive Louise Knox said:
"People recovering from mental health difficulties often have a range of issues which exacerbate their problems. These can include a lack of confidence and self-esteem, unhealthy lifestyles, unemployment, financial insecurity and social isolation."
"We recognise the important part that work has to play in helping recovery. The focus of all our projects is on giving people confidence, together with the skills and training that will help them start the important journey back towards employment."
"The objective of the event was to remind those who refer to us of the variety of opportunities that we can offer, and this was certainly achieved, as we experienced a dramatic rise over the next few days in the number of referrals to our projects."
