I have been committed to improving mental health and well-being for many years. My personal experience with a friend as a teenager has meant this is a field I have been passionate about for a long time.
My enthusiasm and commitment for mental health support, paired with my financial experience as a chartered accountant, meant becoming a trustee at West Sussex Mind was the perfect volunteer role for me. I strongly believe that every decision we make, even down to small financial decisions, impacts our service users. As a result, our service users are at the heart of everything we do and are our main priority when making decisions as trustees.
While I am astonished at the improvements we, as a society, have made when addressing mental health, there is still more that can be done to reduce the stigma. Support should be as readily available as it is for physical injuries and people need to know that they can get support. It is also important that people recognise they deserve help and that mental health is not something people need to deal with alone. I am proud that we can provide support and guidance at West Sussex Mind and can work together to raise awareness about mental health.