Share the acts of kindness you have given and received

Kindness Matters

Jacy Kilvert from Mind in Brighton and Hove will be on Isolation Station Hastings for Thrive at  Five on Wednesday 20 May at 5pm  talking about how kindness and mental health are connected. Erica Smith caught up with Jacy to ask her about the exciting Hastings-based project that Mind in Brighton and Hove (MiBH) have just launched.

This week (18–24 May) is Mental Health Awareness Week hosted by the Mental Health Foundation and the theme is Kindness. We know that Kindness and mental health are deeply connected. Kindness can be an antidote to isolation and can create a sense of belonging, reduce stress and offer a fresh perspective.

The Mental Health Foundation is asking the public to focus on three things for this Mental Health Awareness Week:

• to reflect on an act of kindness and share stories with us
• to practice acts of kindness to yourself and others
• to share ideas on how we could be a kinder society

We will be delivering postcards to 250 households across Hastings and inviting people to decorate them with their ideas for why kindness matters and acts of kindness that they have experienced. We want the postcards to be put in windows for neighbours and passers-by to see – we hope this in turn will inspire more acts of kindness. We are also asking people to fill in a second postcard and send it back to us with their experiences of either receiving or giving acts of kindness.

There is a digital version of the kindness postcard that can be filled in online so kindness experiences can be shared with us online. Just follow this link.

MiBH works in Hastings and the surrounding areas of East Sussex delivering activities that help people to look after their mental wellbeing including physical exercise, wellbeing workshops and events to mark key days in the mental health calendar. There are lots of helpful resources on the MiBH website to help you with your mental health including tips sheets with great information about activities that could help you during lockdown. Check out www.mindcharity.co.uk.

Tune in to Thrive at 5 via Facebook to hear more about acts of kindness that are taking place across Hastings. The show is broadcast at 5pm today (Wednesday 20 May), but it will remain on the Isolation Station Hastings Facebook page for people to watch any time.

Also in: Health Matters