Our biggest audience yet at Orwell Housing’s summer conference

At The Mental Health Toolkit, we work with organisations of all shapes and sizes, including other charities and not-for-profit businesses. 

In June 2023, we were invited to Orwell Housing Association’s summer staff conference, as part of their 60^th birthday celebrations.  

Orwell provides homes for more than 7,500 residents across East Anglia, as well as care, housing management, and property services, among others.

No surprise, then, that this was our biggest audience yet, with more than 300 colleagues in attendance at the atmospheric Thorington Theatre.

We joined the team after lunch to present an extended version of our Introduction to The Mental Health Toolkit session, which included:

• A Mental Health Continuum Q&A
• An Emotional Needs challenge
• A 7/11 breathing demonstration, to help colleagues keep calm

Using giant Emotional Needs & Resources cards, and our trademark interactive style, we were able to keep this large audience engaged, while getting them thinking about our approach to workplace wellbeing.

Wendy Evans-Hendrick at Thorington Theatre.
Credit: Orwell Housing Association.

Wendy Evans-Hendrick, CEO at Orwell Housing Association, said:

“At Orwell, we understand that wellbeing goes beyond physical health; it encompasses their mental health, emotional and social wellbeing. By providing opportunities, like working with The Mental Health Toolkit, we aim to cultivate a culture that celebrates diversity, encourages open communication, focuses on wellbeing, and fosters a sense of belonging.

“We found the session from Jon Neal and the team at The Mental Health Toolkit insightful and entertaining. It's important to be aware of where you are on the continuum and that there are tools out there to support people back to feeling well.”

Jon, our Chief Executive who led the session, said: “Thank you very much to Orwell Housing Association for inviting us to be a part of your awesome event. What a great place to work.”

Meanwhile Wendy, our Corporate Relationships Manager who was on hand with the mic for the Q&A session, added: “It was great to be a part of it and thanks for your hospitality. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”

We look forward to working with the team at Orwell Housing Association again in the future. You can read more about our work with them in our Case Study.

Find out more about our suite of workplace wellbeing workshops and courses by exploring the Toolkit.