Mental Health Awareness Week 2025: UOK Hits the Road to Celebrate Community
This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week – Community – struck a powerful chord with us at UOK. At the heart of everything we do is a simple truth: we are stronger, healthier, and more resilient when we feel connected to others.
In celebration of this theme and connected by the thread of our campaign ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing through Community’, we spent the week visiting several vibrant community spaces across Brighton & Hove. From multigenerational community centres to university campuses, we had the joy of meeting people where they are – listening to stories, sharing resources, and celebrating the many ways people connect, stay active, learn, give, and take notice in their daily lives.
A Week of Conversations and Connection
At the Old Boat Community Centre, Brooke met with Phillipa, their Operations Manager for a tour of the centre and information around what they do. The centre was bustling with people visiting the food bank, cafe, drop ins with local organisations and a mother and baby group downstairs. We spoke about UOK and what we offer, and the information was very well received with Phillipa saying that they often support people who are struggling with their mental health. Our partnership lead in Brighton & Hove, Brooke Joyce also presented about the UOK network of services to Housing Scheme Managers at Brooke Mead – Extra Care Housing.
At the Hangleton and Knoll Project, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Telling Stories workshop run by the Multicultural Women’s Group. This safe space invites women to reclaim and share memories from the stories of their childhoods to cultural practices around hair and beauty. Folk tales from around the world, including Nigeria and Singapore, were exchanged, creating an environment of deep listening, laughter, and learning.
We also dropped into the centre’s lunch club, where volunteers had laid a beautifully set table. As chatter filled the room, it was clear that these simple meals were about much more than food. They were about connection, routine, and community care.
On Friday, the sun was shining as we continued our journey to Hanover Community Centre and East Brighton Health Hub at Robert Lodge where we spoke to Joe, the Integrated Community Teams Lead. We were welcomed warmly and had great conversations about UOK’s services, the importance of holistic wellbeing, and how community spaces can support mental health every day, not just during awareness week.
Our final stop for the day was the University of Brighton, where we connected with students over leaflets, chats, and some of our signature UOK giveaways (our fuzzy UOK critters, fridge magnets and mints were especially popular!).
The Power of Showing Up
Mental Health Awareness Week is always one of the busiest times of the year for the UOK team, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. We’re deeply grateful to all our partners and the communities who welcomed us so openly.
The week reminded us once again that community care is mental health care. From sharing a story, to offering a smile, to simply showing up for one another, each interaction matters. And in every space we visited, we saw that spirit alive and well.
