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Halifax Minster are hosting an interfaith conference on mental health and wellbeing during this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
The conference, taking place on Wednesday, May 11, will feature workshops and a drama presentation and a free vegetarian lunch.
The keynote speakers will include Jim McManus, Director of Public Health Hertfordshire, and Jonny Richardson Glenn, CEO of Healthy Minds Calderdale.
The Revd Canon Hilary Barber, Vicar at the Minster, said: “Coming out of the pandemic huge numbers of people have seen their mental health take a big hit, and that includes people of faith and many faith leaders.
“I've never known a time when so many of my colleagues have been off work with stress and anxiety.
“Calderdale, and Halifax as a town has been struggling for some time in the area of suicide, with a particular bridge being the place to go and take one's life.
“Many end up in a box in the Minster, and the whole community is rocked as a consequence.
“Last year we reordered the Rokeby Chapel as place where people could go for some quiet and peace, and a place where they could be sign posted to professional help.
“This is a partnership with local agencies in the Suicide Prevention Strategy that has led to an interfaith conference in the Minster, bring together national speakers, local agencies, and the faith communities, to acknowledge the issues before us during Mental Health Awareness Week.”
The conference is free to attend, and delegates need to book via Eventbrite on the Minster website, which can be found here.