Richmond Fellowship signs up to Time to Change mental health anti-stigma pledge

Richmond Fellowship has joined the growing number of organisations committing to end the stigma and discrimination against people with experience of mental health problems by signing a pledge with national campaign Time to Change.

The pledge-signing ceremony took place at our annual national managers conference this week, where our chief executive and chair pledged our support to ‘Time to Change’, committing us to promoting a better understanding of mental health problems while offering support and welfare advice to our staff and people who use our services.

Richmond Fellowship, one of the largest voluntary sector providers of mental health services across England, has been championing recovery and social inclusion for more than 50 years.

Chief executive Derek Caren said: “We’re working towards a society that values everyone with mental health problems. By signing the Time to Change pledge, we demonstrate our commitment to champion this vision amongst our own staff, the people who use our services and the wider community.”

Richmond Fellowship joins the wide movement of organisations that have signed up to the Time to Change pledge, including British Gas, Ernst & Young, BT, Transport for London, Citizen’s Advice, Channel 4 and many NHS trusts, universities, and local authorities.

Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “It’s fantastic that more and more organisations are showing their support in tackling the stigma experienced by people with mental health problems. Employers and their staff can all play a part in helping to stamp out stigma and organisations like Richmond Fellowship are taking a lead.”

Time to Change is England’s biggest anti-stigma programme led by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness and funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief. Set up to create a positive shift in public attitudes towards mental health problems, Time to Change promotes better understanding to combat discrimination towards people who experience mental health problems.