A NEW mental health project is being launched in the Bude area, with hopes to provide support to everyone in such a rural community.

Kilk Clear Mind, a project launching in Kilkhampton, is being run by Katie Brind, Roly Nancekivell and Darren Cornish. The team of three are aiming to bring better support services to people in the Bude area, encouraging people to get together and get talking about mental health.

The project is still in the early stages, but has got so much in the pipeline, as Katie explained.

“I’ve been wanting to set up a mental health charity for a long time, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “The three of us were back and forth with ideas, but came up with the idea to set up a support group, so it sort of combined all we were doing.”

The group are having to fundraise to provide regular mental health workshops. “It will be somewhere where people can have a chat, have a coffee and get talking. We will hold monthly workshops, which will be focusing on people’s wellbeing and exchanging ideas on what sort of help they need.”

Katie, Roly and Darren have been offered free life coach sessions from a life coach in Bude, as well as support pledged by counsellors and professionals.

“It’s all about moral support,” Katie continued. “It’s about getting people to talk about how they’re feeling, teaching them that it’s okay not to be okay, and that they’re not alone. It’s not a place for therapy-type sessions at all, but somewhere to provide extra support.”

Katie explained that the three of them have all experienced a mental health problem, from depression and anxiety to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). The services will be open to anyone from around the Bude area who have been diagnosed with, or suspect that they are living with, a mental health condition and need someone to talk to about coping with that condition, or the next steps in how to receive treatment.

The team are relying on volunteers, support and funding, which they will be focusing on in order to continue providing workshops in the future.

With the number of people experiencing a mental health problem on the rise, rural and isolated communities can often struggle for support. Katie said: “There’s not a lot down here, people struggle down here because there’s just not enough support. We have said before, it usually gets to the extreme where someone has to be sectioned, or volunteers to be sectioned, or the doctor will just say, ‘here you go, have some tablets’, and that’s it.

“We want people to get talking to other people about what they’re experiencing. We want them to feel like they can come to our group and know that they won’t be judged. It’s not like an alcoholic therapy session or anything like that at all. People want to talk, and we’re not judging you.”

The project will provide specific workshops focusing on wellbeing and mental health. However, to allow these to come to fruition, the team need to fundraise. Katie and Darren will be undertaking a 50k walk to fundraise for the project, and they hope to introduce a Just Giving page soon. Public support is also a huge help to them. They have had a logo designed and made for free, and they also hope to get a website up and running in the next few weeks. Neetside Surgery in Bude has also been advising patients to see the team at Kilk Clear Mind, and the team have got local counsellors and GPs on board.

Katie has been working to receive a course degree on mental health training in her own time, in order to provide a more professional service to local people.

Another focus is on getting men, and particularly those in the farming community, to talk more openly about their mental health.

Roly suggested introducing a ‘buddy system’, which the team are now focusing on. This would partner people up with the same condition, to see how they are every so often.

Katy added: “We want to raise awareness in the community and get rid of the stigma surrounding mental health. The problem with the NHS is that when you’re referred for counselling, you only get around six sessions, which is just not enough. We want to provide enough workshops for the whole year, which I just need to book now. Hopefully they will be up and running from next month.

“Obviously all of this is still quite new, and I’m doing it in my spare time. I’ve got two kids on my own, so there is a lot to get done. But within the next few weeks, there will be much more information available.”

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