Welsh mental health charity Hafal’s Road to Recovery campaign will be launched by Health and Social Services Minister Edwina Hart AM at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff on Tuesday April 20th.
The aim of Hafal’s campaign, which will be spearheaded by a fully revamped 1960s VW microbus travelling through the 22 counties of Wales, is to spread the word about mental health recovery in a fun and informative way.
Recovery means regaining mental health and achieving a better quality of life and, from April to September, Hafal’s staff and clients – people with serious mental illness and their carers – will campaign to inform the public that recovery should be the expectation for all people in Wales with a serious mental illness.
As well as getting a number of important messages across to the people of Wales the campaign will provide a lot of fun summer activities, too: the 22 events will feature themes such as beach parties, the surfing lifestyle, healthy eating, etc. Visitors will also be able to sign up to a special Road to Recovery postcard containing a message on key campaigning issues.
The VW microbus has been kitted out with all the latest IT gadgets including four touch-screen PCs that visitors can access to view information, advice and guidance about recovery from serious mental illness. The VW’s progress will be charted via a special interactive map which will feature on a special website devoted to the campaign.
The campaign’s three specific goals are as follows:
· Wales has recently been given the power to create new mental health legislation and the Assembly Government has introduced a draft “Measure” (Welsh law). Hafal Members would like the new law and accompanying regulations to give all people with a serious mental illness a legal right to a holistic care plan, and to set out all the areas the care plan should cover. We believe that care plans should include all the areas specified by the Welsh Code of Practice for the Mental Health Act, as follows:
Medical treatment; Other forms of treatment including psychological therapies; Personal care and physical well-being; Accommodation; Work and occupation; Training and education; Finance and money; Social, cultural and spiritual aspects; Parenting or caring relationships.
· We believe that in future all mental health services should be developed and delivered in response to individuals’ care plans. This would mean giving each person a ‘menu’ of services to choose from so that they can exercise choice as much as possible in their recovery.
· Given the pressure on public spending, we want resources for mental health and social services to be fully protected – and for new resources to bring mental health services up to scratch.
For more information on the campaign go to: http://www.hafal.org/hafal/roadtorecovery.php
