Turning Blue Monday green with This is Me mental health campaign
Published: Monday 21 Jan 2019
Landmarks including Library of Birmingham and Grand Central Atrium were lit up for #BlueMondayGreen for the launch of the This Is Me mental health campaign.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands welcomed around 200 people to the event at the Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion FC's ground.
West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and partners including Barclays and Deutsche Bank urged employers in the region committed to support staff and reduce stigma of mental health in the workplace.
Supt Sean Russell, Thrive West Midlands director, with Max Gill from KPMG, who shared her This is Me video, and Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street.
He said: "The 'This is Me' campaign aims to change attitudes towards mental health and to improve employee wellbeing, which is good for businesses too and I am delighted to see so many people committing to this."
The launch was planned for today - Blue Monday, 21 January - claimed to be one of the most depressing days of the year.
Buildings around the region including the Library of Birmingham, the Grand Central Atrium, PwC offices at Snow Hill and Birmingham Cathedral will be green-lit on Monday 21 to mark the launch of This is Me and help turn #BlueMondayGreen.
Some 200 people, both employers and employees, will join a breakfast launch event at the
Many people wore green to beat the blues - in support of the Green Ribbon campaign, the colour associated with mental health campaigns.
Developed in London by the Lord Mayor's Appeal, alongside partners including Barclays, Mind and Time to Change, This is Me is a pioneering campaign that challenges the stigma around mental health at work by supporting people to tell their own stories through video, blogs or other medium, a concept initiated by Barclays.
This is Me West Midlands is being led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) along with the launch partners, Amey, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Gowling WLG, KPMG, Birmingham Mind, Pinsent Masons, Public Health England and PwC.
Since launching in London in 2016, This is Me has gone on to be launched in Scotland and the North West, with over 500 companies registered, reaching more than one million employees.