Jimmy’s mental health fund hands out its first £10k
A NEWLY-CREATED charitable fund to help groups working to improve mental health has made its first awards, totalling £10,000.
Businessman Jimmy Dickinson, owner of Holmfirth-based dairy producer Longley Farm, set up The Jimmy Dickinson Fund last year.
The fund was created to benefit voluntary groups across Kirklees working in the field of mental health, and is managed by One Community, the Kirklees Community Foundation.
Mental health is not the taboo subject it once was but the number of people diagnosed with a mental health condition in Kirklees continues to rise.
According to the Kirklees Joint Strategic Assessment, over one in three (37%) of all adults in Kirklees aged between 18 and 64 years reported having mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety in 2016 – an increase from one in four (25%) in 2012.
So far £10,000 has been awarded. One of the first 10 groups to benefit was Serendipity Creative Writers which was awarded £1,000 to support their work using writing as a way to help people combat their mental health problems. The project is jointly run by Sonia Zoref and Carol Irving, who established the group in 2018.
In Huddersfield the group runs two writing sessions most weeks; at the Paddock Community Centre every Thursday afternoon, and at Cafe Society in Huddersfield on Friday afternoons. Free coffee and cake is on offer to help people feel comfortable and relax into their surroundings.
Sonia said: “We are extremely grateful for this funding. It will help cover some of our operating costs going forward.
“Our aim is to provide creative writing and mindfulness workshops for people suffering from mental health problems; this can include people out of work, those that struggle to get out in to the community; and people who suffer from isolation.
“Our basic writing exercises encourage people to share their thoughts and feelings, when normally they wouldn’t have the opportunity.
“It is a real cathartic experience for people using our service.”
Katie Kempf and Mandy Fawcett from Longley Farm made the awards and Katie said: “It was lovely to meet some of the people behind these great projects.
“Prioritising good mental health is an ongoing commitment of ours at Longley Farm, and we take pride in being part of our local community.
“And we do hope that the Jimmy Dickinson Fund will help to improve mental health awareness throughout Kirklees.”
General manager of One Community, Paul Johnson, said: “We are delighted with the success of the new Jimmy Dickinson Fund.
“To open such a fund to support groups working with mental health issues is definitely a big step in the right direction.
“For too long mental health issues have not be given the attention they deserved. Too many people suffered in silence.
“This new fund will give local groups the financial support they desperately need to make more help available for people facing up to their mental health issues.”
Funding is available for Kirkleesbased voluntary groups from One Community Foundation throughout the year, and further details can be found on the foundation’s website www.one-community.org.uk