NOTHING BUT THIEVES LAUNCH #IAMWHOLE MENTAL HEALTH CAMPAIGN IN LONDON


NOTHING BUT THIEVES LAUNCH #IAMWHOLE MENTAL HEALTH CAMPAIGN AT LONDON’S ICONIC BT TOWER

NOTHING BUT THIEVES RELEASE ORCHESTRAL VERSION OF ‘BROKEN MACHINE’
#IAMWHOLE SEES SUPPORT FROM THE LIKES OF NICK GRIMSHAW, ELLA EYRE, PROFESSOR GREEN, JOEL DOMMETT, ADELE ROBERTS, ANNA WILLIAMSON AND MANY MORE!
YMCA RELEASES MAJOR RESEARCH FOR #IAMWHOLE

www.whole.org.uk 

Today, #IAMWHOLE, the mental health initiative created by the NHS and the YMCA, launched it’s hugely important 2017 campaign, designed to raise awareness of mental health and coincide with World Mental Health Day.  

To mark the launch of the campaign, UK chart-smashers Nothing But Thieves played an intimate acoustic show atop London’s iconic BT Tower this morning, which saw the critically acclaimed band perform a selection of songs taken from their recently released album ‘Broken Machine’.  

After lending the album’s title track to #IAMWHOLE, the launch day also saw the single and video release of a stunning orchestral version of Nothing But Thieves ‘Broken Machine’, recorded at London’s famed Angel Studios.  

Conor Mason, Nothing But Thieves lead singer, said:
“Mental health affects us all and is as important as physical health. Just because we can't see what’s going on in someone's head it doesn't mean it's not happening.

“Mental health difficulties have been a big part of my life and have affected many people around me, including some of my bandmates. This is why Nothing But Thieves support the #IAMWHOLE campaign to help change the way we talk about people experiencing mental health difficulties. It’s an issue that’s very real and is close to our hearts”.

Joining Nothing But Thieves, a host of UK celebrities have also lent their support to the #IAMWHOLE initiative with Ed Sheeran, James Corden, Liam Gallagher, Mykita Oliver and Russell Kane getting on board with the fantastic cause last year.

This year, even more big names have come out in support of the cause including Nick Grimshaw, Ella Eyre, Professor Green, Huw Stephens, Adele Roberts, Joel Dommett, Dermot O’Leary, Rick Hatton, Romesh Ranganathan, Roxy Nafousi and many many more!

The #IAMWHOLE campaign also sees the YMCA release brand new major research around mental health. More Than Words, published today on World Mental Health Day as part of the YMCA and NHS #IAMWHOLE campaign, showed that 44% of those who have heard or seen negative stereotypes did so on a weekly basis, with young people coming across an average of 33 different words and terms.

Two thirds (66%) of young people who have seen or heard harmful words and negative stereotypes relating to mental health say it is simply part of everyday language, with ‘psycho’, ‘retard’ and ‘attention seeker’ being among the most commonly used words, new research from youth charity YMCA has revealed.

Researchers spoke to more than 2,000 11-24 year olds and found out that even though nearly nine in ten (88%) young people who have come across stereotypes and negative words think they should be challenged, less than half (48%) have done so.

The damaging impact of harmful language is evident as more than half (55%) of young people who have been on the receiving end say it stops them from talking about their difficulties.

Denise Hatton, Chief Executive for YMCA England & Wales, said:
“Our research has shown that stereotypes and negative language surrounding mental health are so engrained into our everyday language it makes it almost impossible to tackle stigma if we don’t change the way we talk about people experiencing mental health difficulties.

“While everyone knows how damaging insults can be, it’s the more subtle elements of how we talk about the issue that really discourages young people from speaking out.

“Most of us use words unintentionally not realising the damaging consequences of our comments. We need to start challenging people on the way they talk and also challenge ourselves. Only by being accountable for our own actions can we really drive change, and the #IAMWHOLE campaign has many resources available to help everyone better understand mental health and tackle stigma one word at the time.”  

Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price said:
“We should all challenge cruel language - it is nasty and hurtful and not just for those with mental health conditions. I’m proud to support the #IAMWHOLE campaign to help stop this stereotyping that is too often associated with mental health.”

Natalie Waugh, Head of MyDonate, BT, said:  
“We are proud that YMCA England and NHS chose MyDonate. We are committed to responsible fundraising and as a commission-free platform there is greater transparency in knowing that more money will go to this charitable cause. Improving and championing mental health is something that’s always been important to us at BT. We are excited to support the first #IAMWHOLE fundraising campaign to make sure that even more young people get the help they deserve.”

Other findings from the research report include:

  • More than four in five (81%) young people have heard negative words and stereotypes about mental health
  • 60% of young people said social media is where they most frequently saw negative words and stereotypes about mental health
  • 72% of those hearing or seeing negative language and stereotypes believe social media is the most common place for people pick these up
  • Only 30% of young people who have heard or seen stereotypes and negative language say they are used with the intent to cause harm, with the majority (79%) putting their use down to a lack of understanding about mental health.
  • 74% of young people who have heard and seen negative words and stereotypes say people must be educated about mental health to stop these, while 70% say talking about mental health will help tackle the issue.


Anyone who wants to get involved in the campaign can do so by posting an #IAMWHOLE selfie on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and text ‘WHOLE’ to 70007 to donate £3 to YMCA to strengthen the circle of support available to young people.

For more information about #IAMWHOLE and this year’s campaign activity, visit www.whole.org.uk.

ENDS

For more information, or for an interview with any of the above, please contact:
Siobhan Connor, Account Manager at The Zeitgeist Agency, at:
siobhan@thezeitgeistagency.com, or call 07865 586926.  

NOTES TO EDITORS
The fieldwork for this research was conducted by specialist youth research agency, YouthSight on behalf of YMCA. More than 2,000 young people, aged 11-24 years old took part in the research between July and September 2017.

About #IAMWHOLE
#IAMWHOLE is an anti-stigma mental health campaign developed in partnership with the NHS and YMCA, the world’s largest youth charity, and was launched in 2016 by Jordan Stephens, one half of music duo, Rizzle Kicks. The campaign has been developed as a direct response to the mental health difficulties being experienced by children and young people throughout the UK, Ireland and around the World.#IAMWHOLE key aims:

Challenge harmful language
Get talking and ask for support
Show support by using #IAMWHOLE

October 10, 2017 3:14pm ET by Pressparty   Comments (0)

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