Welcome to Mental Health Mates Welwyn Garden City! What is Mental Health Mates? Mental Health Mates (MHM) was founded by Bryony Gordon in 2016. It’s a network of peer support groups run by and for people with mental health issues. We meet to walk and talk without judgement. You don’t have to have a diagnosed mental health issue to join our meet-ups – everyone has mental health and MHM is here for everyone. What happens at a MHM WGC walk? At Mental Health Mates Welwyn Garden City, we meet at 11 am and go for a short walk. The whole walk usually takes about 45 minutes (not including breaks) but we will stop regularly to check how everyone is doing. You’re welcome to walk at your own speed and take a break whenever you need. As well as the walk, we usually stop for a tea/coffee/soft drink and a chat. Depending on the weather and the location, this might be in the middle of the walk or at the end. We want everyone to feel welcome. So you can walk and talk as much or as little as you’re comfortable with. Some walks have a shorter option for people who aren’t able to walk very far, please contact us if you’d like more information. Do I have to talk about my mental health? We talk about lots of different things on our walks and you don’t have to share anything you’re not comfortable with. Code of conduct To help make sure MHM is an inclusive and safe space, we ask everyone to follow our code of conduct. Considerate communication It’s important we all share and listen equally. Please take turns in listening to each other and support everyone to contribute in the way they would like. Sometimes just listening can be equally as powerful as offering solutions. Be mindful of what you share or discuss so that other group members don’t feel overwhelmed. Bear in mind that other people might have had experiences that make particular topics very upsetting to hear about. Respecting facilitators Our walk leaders do a great job and they do it voluntarily. Please be respectful and kind if you’re giving feedback on walks and remember that they also have their own mental health to manage. If you have any concerns about a walk and are unable to resolve this with the walk leaders, please contact the MHM national team at hello@mentalhealthmates.co.uk Online boundaries Online and social media spaces can be great places to keep in touch. Please respect each other’s boundaries when operating in virtual spaces. Be kind and use respectful and appropriate language. Remember that walk leaders and other group members will have other responsibilities and might be struggling with their own mental health. This means they might not be able to respond to messages immediately. Please don’t message other MHM members repeatedly in a way that could feel overwhelming. Not everyone in a WhatsApp group or social media page will have been on a walk before and some might feel anxious about it. If you have any concerns about the walk, please contact the walk leaders privately rather than on a group forum. Peer support MHM is a peer support network. We aren’t mental health professionals. There’s more information about mental health support in Hertfordshire at the end of this leaflet. MHM is a good place to make friends and you might want to contact other members outside the group. Please respect people’s boundaries when asking for or sharing contact details and do this in a way that doesn’t make other group members feel excluded. MHM should not be used as a way to meet a romantic partner. Confidentiality MHM is a safe space to talk. Please be mindful of people’s confidentiality. If you are concerned about someone’s safety or the welfare of a child, please talk privately to the walk leader. We hope these guidelines are helpful in creating a safe and supportive environment for everyone. If you have any questions, please talk to a walk leader. If you’re not able to follow these guidelines we will discuss this with you privately. It might be that we decide MHM is not the best place for you to get peer support and we will try to recommend other sources of support. Getting support Our walk leaders have other responsibilities so they aren’t necessarily able to organise meet-ups as regularly as you would like. But there are lots of other sources of support you can access alongside MHM WGC. Contacting us: You can find us on Facebook and Instagram (search for Mental Health Mates WGC). You can also email us: mhmwgc@gmail.com Other Mental Health Mates groups: Mental Health Mates Stevenage: mhmstevenage@outlook.com Mental Health Mates Royston: mentalhealthmatesroyston@gmail.com Sign up to the MHM newsletter to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the national group, including some helpful online talks: https://www.mentalhealthmates.co.uk/register/ Other local groups: Hertfordshire health walks: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/recycling-waste-and -environment/countryside-management/hertfordshire-health-w alks/hertfordshire-health-walks.aspx Mind in Mid-Herts: https://www.mindinmidherts.org.uk/ Hertfordshire wellbeing service: https://www.hpft.nhs.uk/services/community-services/wellbein g-service/ Crisis support MHM is not intended to take the place of professional support. If you are feeling desperate, there are a number of groups you can contact. More information about this is available on https://www.mentalhealthmates.co.uk/support/ In the case of an emergency, please call 999.