News

Children’s Mental Health Week will take place from the 6th – 12th February 2023 and the theme this year is “Let’s Connect”.

Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.

For Children’s Mental Health Week 2023, children are being encouraged to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways.

National statistics show that 50 % of mental health issues are established by the age of 14 and 75% by age 24.

70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not received support at a sufficiently early age. 

Here at the Foundation, we have offered Mental Health support to around ten young people over the past two years. Invariably we have found that young people are awaiting assessment elsewhere and are expected to wait between three to six months. We are in a fortunate position whereby we can invite people into our Counselling service within two weeks. Unfortunately, schools don’t appear to be offering any substantial support when it comes to emotional wellbeing, and therefore lots of young people simply don’t know who to turn to.   

The Standing Tall Foundation practices Solution based Therapy. We teach coping strategies including mind management techniques which encourages children and young adults to focus on their reactions rather than circumstances. The results generally include anxiety management and stress reduction. 

Our Head of Therapies, Phil Parr has seen a variety of young people displaying different issues, here are some of their testimonials:

“My son is 12 and has struggled with bullying at school which has left him with lots of painful memories and feelings to deal with. Counselling has offered a safe place to talk about his emotions and feelings in difficult times. Counsellor Phil is installing positivity and coping tools to help my son deal with the emotions and the results speak for themselves. He looks forward to seeing his Counsellor and he is improving all the time.”

“My daughter is 15 and has very high levels of anxiety. She has struggled during the Covid Pandemic and not seeing her friends. Her confidence was at an all-time low and she was having lengthy periods off school due to her mental health. She attended Counselling with STF, and the results were almost immediate. My daughter has learned how to challenge negative thoughts and behaviours and she has learned the importance of stepping out of her comfort zone. Counselling has enabled her to regain her confidence. She has passed her exams and is looking forward to the future.”

If your child is suffering with Mental Health issues and you need some support or advice, please get in touch with our lead Mental Health Counsellor Phil:

phil@standingtallfoundation.org.uk

It has been a strong start to the year here at the Foundation, and we are elated to announce our latest partner, Communications Plus. 

Communications Plus are an Award-Winning Telecoms Provider based in St Helens. They are a trusted and valued provider of telecommunications solutions to consumers and businesses across the UK. From their head offices in Rainford and Sunderland, and as an O2 Excel Partner, they aoffer the best deals and prices on business phones and SIM only tariffs, plus provide broadband, landline phone systems and VoIP solutions to thousands of businesses.

They were recently awarded O2 Franchise of the Year in recognition of the exemplary levels of service and care their team provide to customers daily. Whether you are looking to upgrade your business mobiles or take out new plans on the latest handsets, they have a dedicated team of specialists ready to help.

Our Founder and Ambassador Andy Reid MBE recently spoke at The annual Communications Plus Awards evening at St Helens Town Hall, celebrating the exceptional results and award-winning customer service delivered by the amazing teams in their O2 stores.

Andy Reid MBE says:

‘I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Steve, his team and their staff on this journey with us, all the more so, because they’re a local well respected company. The Foundation is proud of its St Helens roots and working together in partnership with such a reputable business, is extremely exciting.”

Welcome – we can’t wait to work together moving forward!

If you are interested in becoming a partner of the Foundation, please get in touch HERE.

We are kicking off the new year here at STF with an exciting new partnership announcement. We are delighted to welcome our first media partner to the Foundation – Emporia.

Based in Liverpool, Emporia are a full service global media and marketing communications agency, offering a plethora of Outdoor, Media and Creative Services to “empower your brand”.

Emporia would love to support us in 2023, and are keen to provide us with visual advertising to help us promote the foundation so keep your eyes peeled for it around St Helens this year!

Managing Director Rachael Parry-Jones said:

We’re delighted to announce our partnership with Standing Tall Foundation, who promote the mental and physical health of all community groups. Empowering those who are in need of support, we share a belief in their values and look forward to working with the foundation.

We are really excited to be working together moving forward, and warmly welcome them into our Foundation partner stable!

Our Mental Health and Addiction support Counsellors Phil and Chris attended a Veterans Crisis Training day last week at GMP Sedgely Park Training Centre.

Facilitated by the UK Hostage and Crisis Negotation Team, the theme was suicide prevention and focused on improving their communication skills in order to resolve a crisis situation.

Learning included verbal deescalation, active listening skills and empathetic communication. The training was really enjoyable and helpful in terms of offering an alternative means of communication.

A really interesting and insightful day was had by all, thanks to everyone involved.

SAVE THE DATE!

We are delighted to announce that following the success of our very first Gala Dinner and Awards last year, and the incredible support we received from all our Foundation Partners and friends, we are going to host another one!

This will be held on Saturday 23^rd September at the spectacular Concorde Conference Centre, Manchester.

There will be an awards ceremony once again to celebrate our partners and the support you have all shown, a fantastic 3 course dinner, auction, entertainment, guest speakers, performers and even a special celebrity guest!

There are also opportunities to sponsor the awards categories or the event in general, please let us know if this is something that might be of interest.

Here is a reminder of last year’s categories, winners and photos from the night:

https://www.standingtallfoundation.org.uk/2022/09/21/stf-gala-dinner-awards-night-winners/

So please get the date in your diaries ASAP and we really hope to see you all again this year! More details to follow in due course.

In the current climate, we understand that many people in the area are struggling with the cost of living, in particular with their energy bills and affording to heat their houses. We are therefore delighted to be able to provide a warm space for people in our Poppy Suite here at the STF Hub.

If you need somewhere to go for a couple of hours on a Monday or a Wednesday morning or evening, we are here!

So come and get yourselves a hot brew (and some biscuits) and enjoy the warm, safe and friendly space.

The 4-Point Programme is the foundation and building blocks of SMART.  Many of the tools and techniques can be used not only for your recovery journey, but to help you deal with future problems and achieve more satisfaction and balance in your life.

The four points are: –

– Building and Maintaining Motivation

– Coping with urges

– Managing Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours

– Living a Balanced Life

What makes SMART different?

Friday night saw the winners of the Pride of St Helens Awards 2022 crowned on an emotional and inspiring night at Saints’ stadium.

It was the 10th occasion the event – sponsored by the Mikhail Hotel and Leisure Group – had been staged since its inception in 2012 and the glittering evening on Friday, hosted by sports broadcaster Fraser Dainton, saw the best of St Helens celebrated.

Our Colonel Andy was nominated in the category for the Courage Award, due to recently completing his epic climb of Mount Kilimanjaro and becoming the first ever triple amputee in the UK to do so.

He was up against two other very worthy nominees – PC Dan Parr and Karen Rigby who sadly passed away earlier this month from a long battle with brain cancer.

Andy graciously accepted the award and delivered a heart felt speech in which he said:

“It’s not courageous climbing a mountain, it’s hard graft and takes mental strength to keep pushing beyond the pain and self doubt. What takes courage is asking for help and that’s why I climbed the mountain, to raise awareness and funds for our Foundation so we can continue to provide mental health therapy and drug and alcohol support.”

Andy first received the award 10 years ago at its inception, and him winning it again due to his recent achievements just goes to show how far he has come on his own recovery journey. Long may you continue to inspire others!  Thanks to everyone that voted and  a massive congratulations to all other nominees and winners from the night!

If you, or anyone you know is struggling with mental health or addiction issues, please do get in touch with Andy or the Foundation via our CONTACT US page.

Our Colonel and Co-Founder Andy Reid recently became the FIRST EVER Triple Amputee in the UK to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. This incredible display of strength, courage, endurance and will power did not go unnoticed, and Lorraine Kelly invited Andy onto her show to talk to him about it and what the Foundation is doing to help others.

You can watch the full interview below.

Go Andy!

Here are some images from the day:

We cannot thank our Partners enough for the continued support they have shown. This enables us to deliver our Mental Health Counselling and Addiction support services, as well as helping people on a group and individual level via our own initiatives, as well as the help we receive from partners.

BECOMING A FOUNDATION PARTNER

We are always looking to enhance our partner stable, and welcome any new partners or corporate donations with open arms! If you are interested in joining us, please do get in touch. You can find out more on our partner page HERE.

LAUNCH OF THE  STANDING TALL BUSINESS CLUB

In the new year, we are looking to launch our very own Standing Tall Business Club.

Our Standing Tall Foundation Business Club is an exclusive, paid members club based in St Helens. It is the first of its kind in the area, whereby all the profits generated go back into the Charity.

Why Join?

This is a brilliant opportunity to not only network with other people from a variety of backgrounds, but also as a forum to learn how to improve areas in your business via structured workshops and guest speaker presentations.

On a more personal level, we will also showcase the range of services we offer here at the Foundation, in the form of Mental Health workshops and holistic therapies such as Auricular Acupuncture.

CSR Responsibility

By becoming a Business Club member, you will be helping to fulfil your CSR obligations and ambitions. Your donation will go towards helping those in need and supporting the local community by continuing to provide the mental health and addiction support services we do.

Please watch this space for further details and the launch date or go to our Contact Us page to register your details.

OUR FRIENDS AT ST HELENS COUNCIL

Last month we had the pleasure of meeting with Councillor Burns, Ruth De Plessis and Matt from St Helens Borough Council to discuss the mental health and addiction support services we offer here at the Foundation.

In turn, it was great to hear all about the fantastic work they are doing in the community with mental health and addiction, in particular their suicide prevention campaign #ok2ask.

We are looking forward to working together in some capacity in the near future.