Since 2001, the Mental Health Foundation has led Mental Health Awareness Week, bringing people across the UK together to reflect on how we can better care for our mental health. This year’s theme, the power and importance of community and how we can find Wellbeing through Community
At UOK Brighton & Hove, we know that community is not just a support system—it’s essential to wellbeing. So for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, we rooted our celebration in the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, five evidence-based actions that improve mental health by exploring how each one is deepened and made more powerful through connection with others.
Bringing the 5 Ways to Wellbeing to Community
To engage our community in this reflection, we created a vibrant set of interactive postcards which we took to various events across the city throughout the week.
To help make these actions tangible and personal, we created a vibrant set of interactive postcards—each representing one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing. These postcards travelled with us throughout the week, sparking conversations at events and inviting people to reflect on a simple question:
“How do you stay well in your community?”
The answers were thoughtful, heartfelt, and hopeful—offering glimpses into the small but powerful ways people care for themselves and each other.
Social Media Campaign:
Each day of the week highlighted one of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing. We also brought these themes to life on social media, showcasing real-life examples of how our community is already living out the Five Ways:
- Connect – through friendly chats, shared meals, or creative spaces like The Clare Project’s drama workshops for TNBI adults.
- Be Active – by dancing together at Hangleton and Knoll Project’s Bollywood sessions or joining in on group walks and swim sessions.
- Take Notice – by slowing down and appreciating small joys in nature, movement, or mindfulness, especially when shared with others. Qwell’s reflective journaling tools help you slow down, notice your thoughts, and appreciate everyday moments that matter.
- Keep Learning – through Recovery College, in partnership with Southdown, which offers free, empowering courses to help you build confidence, learn new skills, and grow alongside others.
- Give – by volunteering, offering time, kindness, or presence—whether it’s a formal role or a spontaneous act of care. Our partners Together Co and Cruse create meaningful volunteering opportunities—offering your time or care can be a powerful gift to someone in need.
Facebook: UOKBrighton Hove / LinkedIn: UOK Mental Health Support / Instagram: @uokbrightonhove
Spotlighting Community in Action
Throughout the week, we celebrated community not just in words, but through real events, conversations, and moments of connection.
Frontline Workers Event
The event was also an opportunity to give back to our frontline workers from partner organisations—those who hold space for others every day. It was a moment to pause, reflect, laugh, and connect with one another.
The postcards, hung up and shared throughout the space, served as a visual tapestry of what it means to thrive together. On the back of each postcard, we posed a simple but meaningful prompt: “How do you stay well in your community?”
People shared their own definitions of “community,” wrote reflections on postcards, and left feeling re-energised. As one attendee beautifully put it, “Community is about feeling free to be yourself and knowing someone is there.”
Read more about this powerful gathering →
Community Visits
To honour the spirit of meeting people where they are, the UOK team visited community hubs across the city all week- from the Old Boat Community Centre to Hanover Community Centre, East Brighton Health Hub, and University of Brighton.
We listened to stories, shared resources, attended workshops, and joined lunch clubs and drop-ins. We witnessed the joy, routine, and care that ripple through these community spaces.
At Hangleton and Knoll, we sat in on a Telling Stories workshop with the Multicultural Women’s Group, where folk tales from Nigeria to Singapore were shared with laughter and pride. These stories reminded us that healing, learning, and belonging all begin with being heard.
Read more about the visits →
Mental Health Talk
We ended the week with an inspiring talk by Daniel Wilsher at the Brighthelm Centre. A finalist on Channel 4’s The Piano, TEDx speaker, and youth worker, Daniel shared his powerful story about trauma, healing, and the unexpected ways small acts of kindness can change a life.
His message was clear: we don’t need to be experts to support someone—we just need to show up. Service, he reminded us, is about listening, connecting, and giving what we can.
The evening was full of connection, laughter, and moments that stayed with attendees long after it ended.
Read more about the talk →
The Heart of It All
Mental Health Awareness Week is always a highlight in our calendar, not just for its national significance, but because of what it brings out in our local community: honesty, warmth, and shared commitment.
This year reminded us that the Five Ways to Wellbeing aren’t just personal tools, they are collective practices. When we connect, move, notice, learn, and give together, we build stronger foundations for everyone’s mental health.
Thank you to everyone who took part: whether you wrote a postcard, came to an event, or shared a story. Your presence matters. Your kindness makes a difference.
Together, we’re building a community where mental health is everyone’s business and where no one has to navigate it alone.
