This Is Me…This is Liverpool

THIS was the call to action to businesses, employers, workers and residents across Liverpool at the start of the City's very own mental health awareness campaign. Liverpool City Council has joined forces with a host of big name companies, including:- Barclays, Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) and Seddon Construction to launch the City's own This Is Me mental awareness campaign. The campaign focuses on good mental health and wellbeing within the workplace by helping employers to provide a platform for staff members who have experienced mental health problems to share their stories with others. This Is Me also brings together expertise from mental health and support charities MIND and The Samaritans. Liverpool Town Hall was the venue for the launch of:- 'This Is Me,' which saw more than 100 delegates and invited guests turn out to show support for the campaign.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, who officially opened the event, said the Council would play a leading role in promoting good mental health amongst its workforce. Mayor Anderson said:- "The real challenge is to change people's perceptions and challenge the stigma that surrounds mental health wherever we find it. The message is, if you are struggling with your mental health, it's ok to talk to people. In the City Council we will be setting up teams within the different departments who will be able to give support to anyone who has issues that they need to talk about. We are encouraging everyone to have a conversation about their mental health. I would urge everyone to speak to 1 of your colleagues and take the time to tell them how you feel today."

► The City Council is hosting a special This Is Me page on its website where businesses can find out more and register to join the campaign.

► According to mental health charity MIND, 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.

► The launch event heard real life testimonies from many professionals who have experienced various forms of mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression.

Leading the charge for Liverpool was Barclays North West Director of Transformation, Christine Meakin. Mum of 2 Christine told the audience how she experienced 'burnout' in 2014. "I never thought I'd be someone who'd suffer from anxiety or stress; I thought I was too strong. I was pushing myself to be everything to everyone because I didn't want to let people down, I was in denial about how I felt, but I didn't want people to see that I was struggling and I didn't want to ask for help because I saw it as a sign of weakness." said Christine.

Christine told the audience how she eventually spoke to her employer about how she was feeling, which led to her taking 5 months off to recover. She added:- "What's most important is that people are talking about mental health and that they don't feel ashamed if they are struggling with it. If I'd known more about wellbeing when this happened I may not have reached the low that I did. I learned that stress is indiscriminate, it can happen to anyone and is not a sign of weakness. Taking the 1st step is hard, but once you've taken it you won't look back. I felt like a weight had been lifted when I opened up."

· To find out more about the This Is Me campaign in Liverpool, visit:- Liverpool.Gov.UK/ThisIsMe.

Well known Liverpool band headlining to Cavern Club concert for leukaemia charity

A fantastic charity concert is to take place at The Cavern Club. Championed by BBC Introducing in Merseyside, The Ambition have been announced as the headline act for a Cavern Club fundraiser that is set to raise thousands for a national blood cancer charity. The band won ITV's This Morning's best unsigned artist competition in 2016 and have been lauded by celebrities such as Philip Schofield and more recently, their latest single:- 'Thirty Thousand Feet' grabbed the attention of Warner Music who have added them to their Topsify playlists. The band will now headline a gig at the world famous Cavern Club, on Thursday, 1 November 2018, which has been arranged by Kris Griffin to raise money for national blood cancer charity Leukaemia Care. Kris was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML), a form of blood cancer, at the age of 32.

Kris said:- "After visiting my GP with symptoms such as night sweats and pain in my hip, a blood test went on to reveal a leukaemia diagnosis which had me asking the question, 'Am I going to die?' When you're told you have a leukaemia, or a blood cancer, or some other terrible disease, you never forget what being told feels like. There's a ringing in the ears, everything just drains out of you. You just feel like you've been punched, really hard, but you feel no pain. Now 10 years on, I'm a marketing expert, blood cancer charity trustee and a passionate campaigner working with fellow leukaemia patients across the world seeking access to treatment. I'm also a seasoned public speaker, I recently spoke at a training day for 40 West Midlands GP's to help them understand what a blood cancer diagnosis feels like from a patient perspective."

The Cavern Club have kindly gifted the venue to Kris to help him reach his ₤10,000 fundraising goal. The gig is part of a year long #Kris10 campaign.

Kris said:- "As a huge fan of The Beatles, I was delighted when the Cavern agreed to let me use their venue for the night. I'm absolutely chuffed that another Liverpool band have agreed to headline the event; The Ambition are a band to watch out for."

Kris' gig is also being supported by vocal coach CeCe Sammy through her programme, The Power of Muzik. Artists from The Power of Muzik will form the rest of the bill which will be announced at a later date.

Tickets are available from the Cavern Club website, priced at ₤20 each, and tickers can also be obtained at the Club's Box Office.

If you do not already know, The Ambition are a Liverpool based pop group, they are inspired by acts such as The Vamps, The 1975, The Weeknd and Coldplay to name a few. Their debut single:- 'Thirty Thousand Feet'  that was released on 31 August 2018 and has since been well received. They have been invited into BBC Introducing 20th October 2018 to perform their new single live and to chat about their record.

For more information about Leukaemia Care, a national blood cancer support charity, that is dedicated to ensuring that anyone affected by blood cancer receives the right information, advice and support, visit:- LeukaemiaCare.Org.UK.