The money was presented to Mind representatives Clare Searle and Michael Power by Morrisons service manager Morgan Tarr and store community champion Harry White. The money came from the Morrisons Foundation which awards money to deserving charities all over Britain.
Val Walker, service director at Brecon and District Mind, said the money would be used to develop Mind’s community wellbeing service, which provides one-to-one support to individuals in their homes and support groups within the Brecon area.
Ms Walker said: “Brecon and District Mind are so pleased that Morrisons have agreed to support us again to develop our community wellbeing service.
“With the increase in numbers of people experiencing mental health issues, especially in rural areas where people may struggle with isolation, we know that there is a high level of male suicide in farming communities. We want to provide more support out in those communities so that people can access the support they need when they need it. Evidence shows that if you can talk to someone when you need to it helps to reduce anxiety, stress and depression and prevents it from escalating. Although there is unfortunately still some stigma attached to mental health we need people to understand that this is a normal part of life and everyone will have a degree of poor mental health at certain times. No one needs to feel they must cope alone.
“The Morrisons Foundation’s helping us to achieve this by providing monies to support our community wellbeing manager who will develop our outreach services further, for which we’re very grateful.”
Harry White, who has only recently taken over the role as community champion at Morrisons in Brecon said it was a great way to start in the role.
Anyone requiring support from Brecon and District Mind’s community wellbeing service should call 01874 611529.