Mental Health Awareness Week has just passed us by from Monday 12 – Friday 16 May and since mental health and wellbeing is super important to us at PA, we love to celebrate it wherever we can.
Our Bede Island and Case House offices took part in the Mental Health Foundation’s ‘Wear it Green’ Day to share the message that it’s okay not to be okay. This story is about another wonderful community event that just happened to fall on the same day, though – so read on!
Ternika, your Neighbourhood Coordinators (NCs), reached out to me a few weeks ago to pass on some information about an event being held in Braunstone by our friends at b-inspired. The b-inspired team get up to some amazing work in their community such as mental health support, financial advice, access to work opportunities, and if that wasn’t impressive enough, they also run a local food bank and pantry.
The event was called ‘The Big Community Bite’, an elegant afternoon tea experience that offered tasty treats and live music performed by the organiser of the event herself, Verity Greaves. It was open to anyone in the LE3 1 postcode area and cost just £4 to attend, and as it was part of b-inspired’s wellbeing programme everyone who popped by received a free wellbeing check and journal.
The day’s itinerary was a comfortable blend of entertainment and education, starting off with an introduction from b-inspired’s CEO, Angie Wright. Attendees completed their questionnaires as food was provided courtesy of Taste at Leicester College, followed by some live ukulele performances of classics like Johnny Cash's ‘Ring of Fire’, Bob Marley's ‘Three Little Birds’, and Deep Blue Something's ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s' from Verity, and then her own introduction to b-inspired’s ‘6 Areas of Wellbeing’.
We were surprised to hear from Verity that she was new to the team considering how remarkable the event she’d organised was, and residents seemed to be similarly impressed! One resident told us that she’d recently paid a lot more for high tea that was nowhere near as impressive. She also commented that it was a wonderful way of bringing people together for a chat and raising their spirits, and we couldn’t agree more.
Surveys she carried out told her that the people around her wanted community events like this to build social connections so she did just that – but not only that, she went above and beyond to put together the wellbeing journals and self-help wellbeing resources on self-esteem, the effects of stress, anger management, adverse childhood experiences, good mental health and coping strategies – complete with facts, figures and guidance on support and resources local to Braunstone.
We spoke to Verity to understand the true meaning of the event:
"My passion for wellbeing came about following my own journey to good wellbeing and mental health. As a teenager with undiagnosed ADHD (or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how people pay attention, control impulses, and manage their energy levels) (diagnosed last year at the ripe old age of 37!), I struggled a lot in school and then as an adult. Following double hip replacements, the birth of my now 5 year old and major wrist surgery, my wellbeing was at rock bottom. I began to study wellbeing and links to the brain, neuroplasticity, and what we can do to take back control.
"After realising the importance of knowing how our own brains work, I started teaching at His Majesty's Prison, Fosse Way where I created and delivered a 6-week wellbeing and self-development programme. Seeing the impact of good wellbeing on the lads I worked with, I decided to try and implement the success of the course on a much bigger scale at b-inspired.
"I contacted Leicester College's Taste Restaurant and swiftly got a response from David Flannery, the programme lead for hospitality and catering. Dave was so keen to get involved, we were meeting just a week later! Together, we discussed what the students and the department could offer and agreed that afternoon tea would be perfect.
"We sold over 40 tickets in the short time we had to organise it. Each resident was given a free wellbeing journal that explained b-inspired and our 6 key areas of wellbeing (created by me). We also asked residents to complete a scientific questionnaire (find out more) to measure wellbeing. It focuses on positive thoughts and feelings like optimism, clear thinking, and connections with others.
"This questionnaire is important because it gives us a clear, stigma-free way to understand how people are feeling. It helps us to shape support around real needs — especially in a community where mental wellbeing is deeply linked to breaking cycles of poverty, isolation, and disadvantage.
“Seeing a room full of residents all chatting, enjoying food and live music (I can't resist playing my ukulele, it's such a feel-good instrument!) certainly helped my wellbeing and I'm looking forward to delivering a wellbeing programme soon!”
It was such a wonderful afternoon that let me see first-hand the amazing stuff b-inspired do to promote and support wellbeing in Braunstone. We’re super lucky to work in partnership with them, and it has provided great opportunities for us to get to know our residents better and get involved in things that you, our residents really care about.
Enjoy some more pictures taken by us and Fern Johnson from b-inspired. Seeing everyone chatting and enjoying the food and the music was the cherry on top!
