Kooth: May Newsletter 2022 - Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event when there is an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health. The Mental Health Foundation started the event 21 years ago. The event has grown to become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK and globally.

The theme for this year's Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness. Loneliness is something we can all experience from time to time, and it is different for everyone.

A YouGov poll (2019) of 13 to 19 year olds found 69% said they felt alone “often” or “sometimes” and 59% feel like they “often” or “sometimes have no one to talk to". Supporting young people in recognising when they are feeling lonely, understanding their thoughts and feelings, and identifying the supportive connections they have, is really important.

With this in mind, there are a range of ways in which Kooth can support this week - all for free - such as:

• Kooth assemblies, where we talk about mental health and present a tour of the Kooth website to show young people what support is available to them (live or pre-recorded).
• A range of workshops such as stress and anxiety; wellbeing; male mental health; anger awareness; and anti-bullying.
• Staff training to understand Kooth better, so they feel confident signposting young people to the service if they have any concerns about a young person. This training can be carried out after school hours, during staff meetings or inset days and can include a live tour of the website.

Resources
Please also see below some additional resources for you to share to raise awareness of the free, safe and anonymous support available this Mental Health Awareness Week. You can find more resources, including digital assets to share on your social media pages, at the Promote Kooth website

• Kooth Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 - A4 poster
• Kooth Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 - digital poster
• Kooth Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 - infographic with tips on coping with loneliness
• Kooth Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 - loneliness support brochure for children and young people

Reach Out
Please reach out to your local Kooth Engagement Lead if you have any questions, would like to order resources, or are interested in booking any Kooth sessions for your staff or students:

Please find further guidance, information and resources in the Kooth May 2022 Newsletter (PDF, 5.0 MB).

Contact Details

Karen Dawber, Kooth Engagement Lead covering Kent and Medway)
Email: kdawber@kooth.com