Impact

Hallam Head Space is affiliated to Mental Wealth UK, a charity committed to promoting positive wellbeing on university campuses.  Hallam Head Space was started in January 2012 and is fully student-led.  Head Space have aimed to “Break the Silence” on mental health issues among students and so far, we appear to be succeeding.  We have run a variety of events with the aim of providing an outlet for students to talk to others in similar situations, get involved in various activities and ultimately – to tackle stress.  We have developed a ‘Survival Guide’ containing advice on: eating well, exercising, budgeting and seeking help and we frequently give away revision materials, including: pens, notebooks and bottled water.  Recently we have hosted a petting zoo at both campuses in order to provide students with a break from exam stresses. 

Hallam Head Space has been dedicated to breaking down the barriers between students and the wider community.  We started by tackling the barrier between students and university services.  Since January 2012, we have run events in conjunction with Student Wellbeing, developed relationships with the Careers and Employment Service, and made contacts within the Development and Society department. 

Due to the external volunteering work of the Group Leader at the time (Rachel Staniforth), on 8^th and 9^th May 2013, Hallam Head Space succeeded in cementing ties within the community.   A local charity called Survivors Of Depression In Transit (S.O.D.I.T.) held a mental health conference in Sheffield city centre entitled “Bringing Communities Together” at which Head Space ran a stall.  This in itself was a fantastic opportunity, as Head Space were able to speak not only to other local charities, but also to the local IAPT team, independent practitioners and service users about our aims and achievements so far.  Additionally (and again attributed to the external volunteering work of the Group Leader), Head Space were asked to run a workshop for attendees of the conference, entitled “Mood and Food”.  Five members of Hallam Head Space (Rachel Staniforth, Sammie Taylor, Megan Bean, Pippa Smith and Kathy Steward) worked together to design and deliver an hour long workshop that was both informative and interactive, and which ran twice each day of the conference.  Community ties were further strengthened as Change for Life Barnsley provided some materials for the workshop and leaflets to give out to attendees.  Around fifty people attended the workshops, and approximately 200 people attended the conference overall.

Hallam Head Space now has community contacts directly resulting from their work at the Sheffield mental health conference “Bringing Communities Together”.  We believe that we have found the key to community integration: getting involved!  By seeking out volunteering opportunities within the community and monitoring events coming up, it is possible to raise the profile of student mental health.  Student’s are people too!

Rachel Staniforth

14.5.13