Mental Health Mates Bedford are hosting a walk & Talk on Saturday in Bedford Park, starting from The Pavilion café.
The event is part of the group’s usual monthly walk & talk meetups, but will link to The Great Winter Get Together, January 16-29, a national fortnight run by The Jo Cox Foundation to celebrate the places where people can go to connect this winter.
Across the UK over nine million people and 15% of young people face chronic loneliness. With the cost of living crisis making it more difficult for many people to access their usual social activities, local places such as this one – where people can chat and get to know others – will play a vital role in alleviating loneliness this January.
The walk will take place from 11am on Saturday, starting off from The Pavilion and heading around the park in a circular route, finishing before 12pm back at the café for a chance to stay after and have a cup of tea/coffee and a chat.
The meetup will also be linked to Walk Talk Walk Bedford, who have the same aims as MHM Bedford, and will partner up for future walk/talk meetups.
Cory Walker, one of the walk leaders for the group, said: “Bedford has always had a strong community feeling and we’ve always been there to support each other. That’s why we wanted to take part in this year’s Great Winter Get Together, inspired by the late Jo Cox MP. We know that people will feel isolated this winter and we want everyone to know they will get a warm welcome here.”
“We noticed that our walk scheduled for January coincided with The Great Winter Get Together, so then set about linking it to the event and giving it more promotion to reach people across the area>”
To find out more about Mental Health Mates Bedford, head to their social media pages (Facebook/Instagram)
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