Orwell Housing Association

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.

Pictured: Michelle Harrison, Director of People & Culture (left) and Wendy Evans-Hendrick, CEO (right) with Jon Neal (centre)

In this case study, Wendy Evans-Hendrick, CEO at Orwell Housing Association, explains why the organisation booked us to deliver our Introduction to The Mental Health Toolkit session.

At Orwell, we understand that wellbeing goes beyond physical health; it encompasses 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 invited The Mental Health Toolkit to present their Introduction to The Mental Health Toolkit session to our 300-strong team, because we recognise that the mental health of all our colleagues directly impacts every area of their lives.   

One of our core values is that we are ‘people-focused.’ This means we put people at the heart of our business, and that includes supporting their mental health.

Supporting our colleagues' mental health and wellbeing has a ripple effect that benefits not only us as an organisation but also our customers. A happy, healthy, and motivated workforce contributes to better customer experiences.

We were really impressed with the content and interactive nature of the session, the unique insight into Emotional Needs and how we can support our wellbeing by meeting those needs.

It was a great reminder that our mental health changes constantly, but that there are some things we can check to get us back to feeling good. This includes checking in with ourselves; are we connecting with people? Are we eating and drinking well? Are we sleeping well?

An added bonus was that some colleagues reported a better night's sleep following the session thanks to the eye masks The Mental Health Toolkit team distributed.

We look forward to joining more training from The Mental Health Toolkit in the future.

Find out more about the training Orwell Housing Association attended here.

Photo credit: Orwell Housing Association. Content written and collated by Beren Reid, Digital Marketing & PR Coordinator for Suffolk Mind and The Mental Health Toolkit.