A Tees Valley-based community mental health charity has a spring in its step after receiving a four-figure boost from North East employer the Banks Group.
Red Balloons organises daily Walk & Talk groups across the area that provide a supportive environment for anyone who is experiencing or has experienced poor mental health, as well as a chance for them to benefit from getting physical exercise and more social contact.
The free, hour-long walks are led by trained peer group members and have up to 300 attendees taking part every month.
The £1,920 Banks Group grant will now enable Red Balloons to pay for refreshments after some of its Walk & Talk groups, giving participants the chance to spend some more time together and ensuring people don’t decide to leave due to the cost of buying a coffee.
Founded in 2017, Red Balloons is a lived experience charity, with everyone involved in its work having had personal experience of challenging mental health situations, and works to remove any barriers that its community members might be facing around accessing the support they need.
Alongside its group walks, it also offers one-to-one walk & talks for anyone who doesn’t yet feel comfortable being part of a bigger group, while it also runs regular Lived Experience Forums, a bereavement group and peer support groups for both men and women.
An online messaging service is also available between 7am and 7pm for anyone who is struggling, needs to ask about something or wants to check in with the charity, while a Red Balloons Ramblers group offers members the chance to build up their fitness on longer walks and learn new mountain navigation and first aid skills.
Red Balloons has recently begun operating into North Yorkshire after setting up Walk & Talk groups in Richmond and Northallerton, and is working towards establishing an active presence in County Durham
CEO Leigh Trimble says: “Our focus is on promoting self-care & exercise to improve well-being and offer supportive, accessible and free services that make a real difference to the lives of people and families living across the area.
“The mental health benefits of getting physically active are well known, while the time that our members spending walking together helps to tackle the social isolation that can so often go with mental health challenges.
“We see lots of valuable new connections and friendships being built through our Walk & Talk groups, and meeting up for our walks at specific times and places often helps members get back into the type of routine that they need to start working or volunteering again.
“Many of our members are facing financial struggles due to their mental health situations and can’t necessarily afford to buy refreshments after a walk, so being able to cover this off will encourage them to stick around for longer and reap even more benefits from the time they spend with their group.
“Finding enough funding is a real challenge for all charities at the moment and we’d simply not have been able to move this project forward without Banks’ generous support for our work.”
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “Red Balloons offers a brilliantly simple and effective way of helping people manage and address their mental health situations in a friendly, supportive environment that also impacts positively on their physical health.
“It’s great to see their reach continuing to grow and we’re very pleased to be supporting them as it does.”
The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).
Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via its website enquiry form (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.