Mental health charity changes name
Leading mental health charity Birchwood Highland has changed its trading name to Centred.
Centred supports hundreds of people in the Highlands, either in their own homes or through residential care.
It provides community-based support from offices in Alma Road, Fort William, Inverness, Invergordon and Wick to help people maintain a tenancy, manage money, access specialist support in their community, build and strengthen social networks and find employment.
The charity celebrates its 35th birthday this year and has chosen to change its name to represent the future of mental health support. This marks an innovative step in the life of a pioneering charity.
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes joined staff, service users and stakeholders for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony in Fort William on Friday, followed by a barbecue.
Group chief executive David Brookfield said Birchwood Highland has always been on the cutting edge of mental health support and the charity believes the change of name to Centred reflects this by accelerating an innovative approach to helping those suffering from mental ill-health.
‘We are adapting to change in the mental health landscape. We are initiating our own research into mental health within rural areas to identify ways that service delivery can be adapted to rural challenges and we believe this will make us ready for the future,’ Mr Brookfield added.
‘We hope this will help us continue to develop new ideas and new ways to challenge the stigma of mental ill-health. In today’s world, mental ill health can effect everyone and as individuals we all have different needs and ways support is delivered. This is what Centred will mean, person-centred support for the specific needs of each individual.’