One in four people experience a mental health problem in any given year, yet the topic of mental health still carries a stigma in many organisations. This is Me, now in its third year, is committed to changing attitudes towards mental health by reducing stigma, dispelling myths and improving employee wellbeing for good, using the Green Ribbon as a visual sign of support. On Monday we celebrated Mental Health Awareness Week with a fantastic, energised, and engaging breakfast, kindly hosted by UBS.

Greeted by the huge green 5 at Broadgate Circle, over 100 guests were welcomed for breakfast and networking in UBS’s 7^th floor atrium before being ushered through to the room for inspiring talks from four great speakers.

With the Lord Mayor in attdendance, Dr Paul Litchfield OBE acted as Chair and opened with his investment in the mental health agenda both as a Doctor and as a person. Joanne McCartney, Deputy Mayor of London, spoke on behalf of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, sharing his special message for social media, wearing his green ribbon this Mental Health Awareness Week. Barclays, the architects of the This is Me campaign, were represented by Mark McLane, Global Managing Director of Diversity and Inclusion, who reminded us of journey that organisation’s take with This is Me – from mental health awareness to mental health confidence.We were delighted that Mark was also able to premiere This is Me North West exclusively for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Following this, Charlotte Hankin, Senior Strategic Projects Manager at PwC shared her powerful personal story coupled with the impact of the Wellbeing in the City tool which has been a game-changer across PwC. Finally, Hussain Manawer – poet and Samaritans ambassador, shook the room with his spoken word performances of ‘My Name is Hussain and I Care Too Much’ and ‘Playground’, reminding us of the humanity behind talking about mental health.

100% of our huge audience thought the event as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’, and considered the morning to be “very empowering and an excellent way to raise awareness”. We hope that your Mental Health Awareness Week breakfasts were a huge success and we hope you'll share that with us via email!

Together we can #endthestigma.