World Mental Health Awareness Day

Our beloved VP Communications and Campaigns has already written an excellent blog on World Mental Health Awareness Day - wherein he talks about the importance of talking about mental illness, and the creation of a space in which people can talk about it casually, as well as in an indepth fashion, and a space that is safe enough that people don't feel they have to discuss it to feel safe.

Yetanotherlefty wrote a blog about the expectation to talk in order to solve the stigma mentally ill people face, then posted some valuable resources for people to contact. I'm going to replicate that here (with his permission), and add some more Holloway specific ones.

So, from him (national UK organisations)

The Samaritans 08457 909090 or jo@samaritans.org
NHS Direct Mental Health symptom checker
MIND
SANE

And some more Holloway specific ones

The SU Advice and Support Centre is incredible (in my opinion) and has a lot of useful welfare advice

And the confidentiality policy covering discussions with them is easy to find

There's  also support organised by the University. Remember all of these people should have a confidentiality policy (and will appreciate you asking about that if you feel the need to) and are there if you need them.
Here's their main page

The Health Centre (the on campus surgery) has a whole team of people there to support people with mental health problems, and if you make an appointment there you can discuss your options for accessing support

Student Counselling offer various types of counselling support to students, and are obviously completely free. They tend to offer an initial assessment  reasonably quickly as well.

At night and at weekends the Residential Support Advisors can be contacted if you live in halls, for almost any practical or welfare related concern. Just go to Founders' Reception or the Hub to access them


Some useful phone numbers on campus:
College Security 01784 443 063
Health Centre 01784 443 131

Outside of college, there is also Nightline (which is staffed by student volunteers from a number of University of London universities, and open to take calls from students on crises happening at night) 020 7631 0101