Menopause funding awarded to local Mind charities to help with potentially vital support

Mind in Greater Manchester has been awarded a share of £1.97 million from the government to provide menopause support

Mind in Greater Manchester (Tameside, Oldham and Glossop, Stockport, Salford, Rochdale and Central Manchester) has been awarded a share of £1.97 million from the government to provide menopause support across the region.

Launched in April 2018, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Fund is a joint initiative run by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency.

The funding received by Mind in Greater Manchester will:

· Enable local Minds to provide training to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), that have less than 250 employees and may not have the funding to access such training, to raise awareness of menopause to both managers and colleagues.

· Increase awareness of menopause and the needs of those going through this life transition

· Fund mindfulness and relaxation for menopause courses. These courses support individuals in learning mindfulness and meditation to give them greater capacity to manage the emotional and physical impacts of menopause and to improve their mental health

· Deliver culturally appropriate and specific menopause awareness sessions in different communities across Greater Manchester delivering in a range of multicultural languages and providing in-depth understanding of symptoms and what help is accessible.

Jenny Higson, from Tameside and Glossop Mind (TOG), who are leading on this project, said: “Menopause is a huge issue, not just for women’s physical health, but their mental health too.

"We know that there are hundreds of thousands of people affected across the region but very little support available.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for the local Minds in Greater Manchester to come together to help people going through menopause and those that support them.

"The different elements of this project will ensure we can offer support both to individuals and to their workplaces. We’ll be running workshops to educate, and raise awareness in companies and organisations, delivering mindfulness courses for individuals, and facilitating community awareness sessions.

"Thousands of people will benefit from this initiative and we can’t wait to get started.”

For anyone wishing to access support, workshops and training you can find out more by clicking here, where individuals can register for the various sessions and workshops on offer including a ‘Supporting Employees Through the Menopause Course’, a Menopause Awareness for Small and Medium Enterprises workshop and a Mindfulness and Relaxation for Menopause course, plus much more.

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