MATES

MATES was set up to be your friend who speaks openly about mental health and is always there to listen. To get the message out there that it's ok not to be ok.

MATES (MATES Mental health Awareness Through Educational Speaking Community Interest Company) is a community, it's about all of us. We created MATES because we want to bridge that gap between keeping things bottled up and having someone to chat to. We got together with the common goal that we know we can make a difference. Our friends know that we are approachable individuals and they can and do have an honest non-judgemental, confidential conversation about mental health with us whenever they want. We want to open that conversation up to all of you. We want everyone to feel they can open up and chat to us. Getting things off of your chest is such a massive step, a really important step. We care. Conversations change lives.

?I felt I needed to do something about stopping it, if I could just stop one person from going down that same line then that's something I wanted to achieve.

?I spent about three years watching one of my very close friend's health decline, and being the person they trusted to talk to about their depression and anxiety, watching that on a day to day basis whilst standing powerless trying to help them, it's such a horrific experience.”

Dave, Founder and Managing Director of MATES

The group holds four weekly meet-up sessions and also takes its message of ?conversations change lives' into schools, work places and sports teams, targeting people of all ages and backgrounds.

MATES – The events

Every week, MATES hold four key events in Chelmsford for members to attend.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, these have been temporarily put on hold as the group follows government’s guidance on isolation, but they will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

The events are:

Every Tuesday – Drop in sessions at the United Brethren pub, New Writtle Street (from 7pm) Every Thursday – Football Fitness Club in Chelmer Park, Chelmsford (from 8pm) Every Saturday – Chelmsford parkrun (from 8.50am) Every Sunday – Health and wellbeing walk in Hylands Park (from 9am) Coronavirus Update

All weekly meet-up sessions have been temporarily put on hold.

We are running daily Facebook Live streams at 7pm to discuss topics and any issues the members want to raise, either publicly or privately.