This May, to tie in with national Mental Health Awareness Week (w/c 13 May), Travers Smith LLP will be dedicating the entire month to its continued focus on raising awareness about mental health.
Through a series of seminars, roadshows and online features, the firm will be discussing a range of topics such as stress digestion and the corporate environment, menopause and mental health, and suicide prevention. We are pleased to be joined by a range of external speakers including corporate wellness specialists Health is Wealth, the Professional Career Partnership, Dr Diane Danzebrink, and suicide prevention coach, Christine Black.
We are also delighted to be welcoming back mental health campaigners Jonny Benjamin MBE and Neil Laybourn. In 2008, 20 year-old Jonny Benjamin was stood on Waterloo Bridge, about to jump. Neil Laybourn, who was a stranger passing by, saw his distress and took the time on that cold January morning to talk to Jonny - a decision that saved Jonny's life. Jonny and Neil will be talking about their ongoing journey and sharing their current work.
This year the firm will also be supporting the Lord Mayor's This Is Me campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness and changing perceptions of mental health. The firm will also be supporting the This Is Me's Green Ribbon campaign and will giving all partners and employees a green ribbon to show their support for ending the stigma against mental health.
Over the past year, the firm has introduced a number of initiatives aimed at raising awareness of mental health and helping people deal with issues. This has included running training targeted at line managers to help them spot the signs of mental health illness within their teams and proving advice and guidance on supporting their team where needed. We have also trained a number of our HR team to become mental health first aiders, while also training a number of people across the firm in supporting those with mental health. These people now form a Mental Health First Aid Aware Group.
Mental wellbeing and resilience continues to be an important topic for both the firm and the legal profession in general, and Travers Smith is continuing to support charities and initiatives to help raise awareness of mental health.