It’s been a busy few years for all our partner charities, none more so than for Leeds Mind.

Leeds Mind is the leading local mental health charity, providing services and support to communities in and around the city. During the peak of the pandemic, they supported and worked with more than 3,500.

Since March 2020, everyone has faced different challenges, ranging from physical health worries and bereavement, to juggling childcare with working from home, working on the frontline, or facing furlough and loss of income. We’ve all missed out on important life events, with quiet birthdays and postponed weddings, and we’ve all likely felt the gloom of social isolation.

This difficult time has had a profound impact on our collective mental health; in a Mind survey, two-thirds of adults who already had experience of mental health problems said that their mental health had declined during the lockdown period. The pandemic also impacted those who had never struggled with mental wellbeing before; more than one in five adults with no previous experience of mental health difficulties said that their mental health had become poor or very poor.

Leeds Mind have continued their work throughout the pandemic, delivering vital mental health support to the community in and around Leeds. As a partner charity for 2022, they will be with us once again at the Great Northern Mud Run. If you’d like run and raise money for them, please contact Gemma at Leeds Mind for more information.