Huddersfield Town FC to support Trust’s Festival of Wellbeing

On Saturday 10th October, World Mental Health day, Huddersfield Town FC will lend their support to the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Festival of Wellbeing and the national anti-stigma campaign Time to Change by wearing special shirts in the warm-up before their 3pm kick-off against Exeter City.

The occasion is part of Time to Change’s ‘Get moving week’ which aims to raise awareness of mental health and eliminate the stigma and discrimination attached to mental illness. It is hoped the special warm-up will help spread the message that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem in the course of a year, but unlike other medical issues mental illness doesn’t always generate understanding and sympathy. Information will be given out from the national anti-stigma campaign Time to Change and it is hoped the event will let the attending football supporters see that people with mental health problems are just like anyone else, trying to eliminate pre-conceived ideas. The warm-up is part of an 18 day festival being held across Calderdale, Kirklees or Wakefield, designed to mark world mental health day 2009. Nearly 200 events and activities are being held on the themes of ‘Get moving, get creative and get involved’. Day Service Worker Julian Moses, who works for the Calderdale Inclusion Support Service, said, "We’d like to encourage people to come along to raise public awareness about the stigma people face. Anyone who feels passionate about this needs to join in to end the stigma." The Trust’s chief executive, Steven Michael, said: “This is an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues, reduce stigma and promote wellbeing. We know that creativity, physical activity and social inclusion all make a big difference to wellbeing so our festival is concentrating on these areas. We want people in our local communities to be able to try something new to enhance their wellbeing.” The event is open to match ticket holders and Huddersfield Town FC is running a special ‘Quid a Kid’ offer where the price of a ticket for under 16s is just £1. Adult prices for the game start at £19 and concessions start at £11.