Shoosmiths encourages crucial conversations around mental health

Law firm Shoosmiths has donated funds to two organisations following a firm wide conversation around mental health.

The donation was announced during a session held on national ‘Time to Talk’ Day- a day for families, communities and workplaces to come together for the nation’s biggest mental health conversation.

The Time to Talk session was organised and hosted by Legal PA and Mental Health and Wellbeing Champion, Julie Hedge, who began by opening up about her own mental health struggles.

The firm also welcomed three representatives to the panel, including Steve Phillip, founder of The Jordan Legacy, a charity established in memory of Jordan Phillip to seek ways of better supporting those at risk of being lost to suicide, Anne-Cecile Berthier, country director for Movember, the leading global charity changing the face of men’s health, and Clare Nixon, learning and development at Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate.

Conversations covered the importance of reaching out to those around us and educating ourselves on the tell-tale signs of someone in need of support, even when it might not be apparent. 

There was also an emphasis on the work yet to do to reduce the stigma around men’s mental health, with Movember reporting that one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 69% of all suicides worldwide. Sharing the experience of the loss of his own son to suicide, Steve Phillip stressed the importance of language when it comes to having those difficult conversations and how we can create an environment where people want to talk openly about what they’re dealing with. 

As a thank you for their life-changing work, Shoosmiths also announced that it will donate £250 to both Movember Europe charity and The Jordan Legacy.

Steve Phillip said: "Some companies treat employee wellbeing as a tick-box exercise. This event, once again, demonstrated Shoosmiths' genuine commitment to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their staff. A hugely powerful and emotionally charged panel discussion on the importance of talking."

Julie Hedge said: “Time to Talk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation. It seemed only right that as a Mental Health & Wellbeing Committee we marked this special day by sharing the important message around why we feel that the more conversations we have, the better life is for everyone. We hope that by hosting an open and honest virtual panel discussion with our employees about mental health this will enable them to start the conversation.  

“I felt privileged that The Jordan Legacy and Movember Europe wanted to collaborate with Shoosmiths and am sincerely grateful that the company wanted to make a donation, not only to show our appreciation for them taking giving up their time to be part of Time to Talk Day, but also to give our thanks for the amazing work that they do for their respective organisations.”