Member Article

Housebuilder “drives” in support for Southampton charity’s Time to Talk Day event

Barratt Homes has shown its support for ‘Time to Talk Day 2023’ by funding the transport for a Southampton charity’s designated event which provided a space for people to get together and chat.

The leading housebuilder, which is building homes across Hampshire, handed over £1,000 to Communicare ahead of its CommuniTea morning on Thursday 2nd February, and the charity used the money to pay for a bus to transport its members.

Time to Talk Day is a national day, run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, in partnership with Co-op, and is aimed to support communities up and down the country to have more mental health conversations than ever before.

Communicare in Southampton is a friendly, neighbourhood charity that provides services that enrich the lives of isolated people in the local area. And knowing the importance of getting together and talking for the wellbeing of the people it supports, the charity was keen to mark the national awareness day at one of its regular meetups.

Annie Clewlow, Manager at Communicare, said: “Our regular CommuniTea coffee morning, hosted by the Southampton Children’s Play Association (SCPA), is a wonderful, friendly group where the participants have lots of fun together.

“Thursday’s session, marking Time to Talk Day, was a great chance for them to include the topic of mental health and wellbeing in their chat and welcome visitors for whom this is an important issue to be thinking about.”

Also knowing the importance of mental health is housebuilder Barratt Homes, and hearing about Communicare’s event, the developer was keen to offer some financial help where it was needed.

Annie added: “Barratt’s support meant we could fund a minibus that caters for people with limited mobility, which allowed some of our older, frailer folk to join in with today’s event.

“We are so grateful for its support, and along with Options Wellbeing and Steps to Wellbeing, we really appreciate the help to achieve our aims of the day.”

Anthony Dimmick, Barratt Homes Community Liaison Manager, Southampton Division, said: “Time to Talk Day is an important day when it comes to highlighting mental health across the country, and when we heard that Communicare was holding its own event to mark the day, we wanted to show our support.”

Time to Talk Day is a UK wide campaign, in association with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) and See Me in Scotland, Inspire and Change Your Mind in Northern Ireland, and Time to Change Wales. The day is all about creating supportive communities by having conversations with family, friends, or colleagues about mental health.

Communicare’s services are staffed by its devoted volunteers, known as Communiteers, who give their time freely. The charity is currently supporting around 600 individuals/families through tasks including one-to-one telephone support, transport for essential appointments and assistance with shopping.

Southampton Children’s Play Association supports children in the region with additional or differing needs by providing them with a place to play.

Barratt Homes is committed to supporting local causes which improve the quality of life for those living in the region.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Barratt Homes .