Help - Jim’s Story: short film
We commissioned a short film which was produced by British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to tell Jim’s Story.
The video illustrates how poor mental health can impact on anyone, irrespective of rank or outward appearances. Its key messages is to encourage people to, ‘end the silence and start a conversation’ about the mental wellbeing of themselves or colleagues.
The film is being used to support Mental Health Awareness sessions in BAE and Rolls Royce, and going forward is to be used in leadership courses within the Royal Navy
The video is intended to be used alongside training with a facilitator who is trained to signpost individuals should they be affected by the film, and for that reason only a short excerpt is shown here.
Mental Health Awareness
Since the creation of HELP, we have funded and delivered 150 Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA) Mental Health Awareness Courses. These are training programmes that educate people on how to help someone developing or experiencing a mental health problem. The courses educate a person on how to have a supportive conversation and how to signpost to professional help. They also educate people on how to look after their own mental health and wellbeing.
More recently, we have begun delivering our own workplace interactive Mental Health Awareness sessions, within BAE Systems and Rolls Royce.
As well as sharing Jim’s Story, Rebecca and Titch have delivered interactive mental health awareness sessions which have focussed around understanding mental health, recognising signs and symptoms of poor mental health and discussions on how the language we use can impact the stigma around mental health.
We are looking to develop our bespoke Mental Health Awareness sessions, and producing an accompanying handbook.
Reflection Benches
We have installed “reflection benches” at MoD Abbey Wood and BRNC Dartmouth, and are looking to install more at multiple defence sites, with the aim of ending the silence and starting a conversation about mental wellbeing.
The reflection benches are inspired by the series After Life. In the programme, Ricky Gervais’ character ‘Tony’ often visits the graveyard where his wife is laid to rest following her death from cancer. Tony sits on a bench to reflect; while talking to his wife, he openly contemplates the value of his life. At the graveyard he meets ‘Anne’ who also sits on an adjacent bench visiting her late husband. Despite having nothing in common other than the powerful bond of shared grief, Tony and Anne talk openly about mental health and learn to trust and support each other.
The reflection benches are not a memorial bench, but a visual reminder to acknowledge importance of mental health and also a place to take time out from our busy days. They are intended to support us in becoming aware of other people and to have the confidence to start a conversation. Additionally they are somewhere where you can gain information and get support for yourselves and other people in a discreet way through the QR codes which are embedded in the benches.
