‘see me’ Pledge keeps on gaining more support: 9 new Ayrshire and Arran companies and the City of Edinburgh Council sign up to support ‘see me’
February was a busy month for ‘see me’ Pledges. On 18 February local companies from Ayrshire signed the ‘see me’ anti-stigma Pledge following the ‘Mental wellbeing in your workplace’ conference, which was organised by Healthy Working Lives. By signing the Pledge, they are making a commitment to tackle the stigma and discrimination that surrounds mental ill health. This brings the total number of organisations who have signed the ‘see me’ pledge in Ayrshire and Arran to 26. All the companies have signed action plans that pin down what steps they will take to eliminate stigma and discrimination.
Grace Moore MBE, Associate Director of Health Promotion and Equalities, NHS Ayrshire & Arran commented: “One in four of us will experience mental health issues, while many more of us will suffer from poor mental wellbeing at sometime in our life, so it’s great to see so many local companies joining the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme, signing the ‘see me’ pledge and demonstrating their commitment to health in the workplace. Companies are becoming much more aware of how important it is to look after the mental wellbeing of their staff.”
Commenting on the significance of today’s pledge signing, ‘see me’ Campaign Director, Suzie Vestri said: “We can all play a part as individuals to stamp out stigma; and the backing of organisations and employers in Ayrshire & Arran can help that to happen. Having an employer that takes a stand against stigma at work changes people’s lives. You cannot underestimate the value of promoting tolerance and understanding in the workplace; it enables people, who may otherwise be too afraid, to seek the help and support they need and to stay at work where they can.”
Shortly following this, The City of Edinburgh Council became the largest local authority to sign the ‘see me’ Pledge on 24 February. The Council has committed to wide-ranging activities over the coming year to promote the anti-stigma message and raise its staff’s awareness of mental health issues.
After the pledge signing, ‘see me’s Campaign Director, Suzie Vestri said, “For the nearly half a million people who live in the area covered by the City of Edinburgh Council, today’s Pledge signing is a firm commitment that stigma and discrimination will not be tolerated. As both an employer and service provider, the Council’s influence is far reaching and will have a positive impact on the lives of both their employees and the wider community.”
‘see me’ aims to make people ‘see the person and not the label’ and the Pledge text reads:
We, the undersigned, are committed to work as part of the ‘see me’ campaign to challenge the stigma associated with mental ill-health, and to eliminate the discrimination experienced by people with mental health problems.