Liberation Group, which runs a number of pubs and restaurants across the Channel Islands, is launching a new initiative to raise awareness of mental health issues among staff and customers.
The group has joined forces with mental health charity MIND to offer team members the opportunity to complete a mental health awareness course.
The course will help participants recognise when a colleague or customer might be suffering with poor mental health, so they can offer support and put them in contact with the charity.
Alongside the course, Liberation Group will be launching MIND Mondays - weekly coffee afternoons to encourage people to meet, talk more and enjoy a free tea or coffee between 15:00 and 18:00. They begin on 20 January to coincide with 'Blue Monday' and will run until the end of February.
"Mental health issues are common and likely to affect one in four of us during our lifetimes," said Group CEO, Jonathan Lawson. "The pub has long been somewhere where people can see a friendly face and have a chat, so we wanted to encourage this even more by launching MIND Mondays to provide a safe haven for those who may need to chat or just be in the company of others.
"Recent studies have shown pubs can act as hubs for some lonely, isolated and vulnerable individuals and that this can make a real difference in their lives. At the same time, we have a responsibility to look after over 80 team members across our managed estate so it's important that this new emphasis on mental health makes a real and genuine impact."
Pictured top: Irene and Diego at one of Liberation Group's outlets.
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