YFGM Mental Health Appeal

This is our statement of intent:

"As Young Friends our personal experiences of mental health issues have led us to bring this concern forward. We have recognised the need for more open sharing, better communication and support within our Quaker communities as well as society at large. We aim to share what has been valuable to us including creative processes, and the sense of valuing people for who they are which springs from our Quaker Testimony."

We are fundraising among Quakers for a charity called the Association for Pastoral Care in Mental Health (APCMH), which was adopted as the YFGM Appeal Charity in October 2002. The Appeal will end in May 2004. The money raised will be used to help improve APCMH's communications, develop their training, and expand their work with younger people. Their website is www.pastoral.org.uk.

We had raised £11,950 on 30 January 2004, exceeding our target of £10,000.

Fundraising activities have included approaching Preparative Meetings, an 'Auction of Pledges' (which raised £550 at the Croydon YFGM on 11 October 2003), and a 'National Change of Scene Day' (sponsored walks around the country) on 29 November 2003.

A good background to the Appeal is found in an article by Anne Pommier, 'From Little Star to Mental Health', which appeared in The Friend on 18 April 2003. At the same time, Preparative Meetings were sent a letter, one of the Appeal posters, and an APCMH leaflet. Friends wishing to speak to a collection for the Appeal may also find a crib sheet produced for the purpose useful.

See also more recent articles that appeared in The Friend by Amanda Headley-White, 'Life in Colour - Creativity and Mental Health' (1 August 2003); and Juliette Stoller, 'Art in Mind' (15 August 2003).

At the beginning of September we submitted a paper to the Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) Agenda Committee. Separately, we submitted a minute from the YFGM in October 2003 to Meeting for Sufferings.

We feel the Society of Friends needs to give 'mental health' more attention, specifically with respect to pastoral care within Meetings, and in respect of developing a corporate statement on the issue. We hope there will be a special interest session on mental health at BYM in 2004 that will lead on to a full plenary session at residential BYM in 2005.

The current Mental Health Appeal group consists of Rachel Arnold, Amanda Headley-White, Sally Knowles, Juliette Stoller, David Sunderland, and Paddy Uglow. We last met in York on 21 February 2004.

The Appeal group is actively liasing with APCMH to develop initiatives, for example developing training at Woodbrooke in 2004/5 for Overseers and Elders; providing support to University Chaplains; an awareness-raising video; and contributing to events like the next APCMH Annual Conference, which will look at young people's experiences of mental health. Separately, we held a successful event in Bristol in July 2003 which bought together a group of Young Friends to explore their creative talents through thinking, moving, drawing and playing roles.

We are working with The Retreat hospital in York to organise a similar weekend event in July 2004 to the one held in Bristol.

We have produced four posters to raise awareness, which have been sent to all UK Preparative Meetings. Click on any poster to see all of the images together, and to obtain copies.

pages updated March 2004
YFGM is a UK Registered Charity, no 1064763