The team at our London office are delighted to be lending their support to healing words, an event aimed at showcasing the creativity of people who have experienced mental health problems. We’re lending our support to the poetry competition, organised by London -based charity The Advocacy Project in partnership with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Westminster.
The competition was open to people with mental health problems and their carers, who were encouraged to write and submit poems which chart their journey from the darkest days of mental illness to the point of recovery, and all the stages in between. More than 300 submissions were received and the winner will be unveiled at an evening of celebration tomorrow night, in the Map Room at City Hall, London.
The winning poem will be read out by television actress and writer Joanna Scanlan, star of The Thick of It and No Offence. She also helped to judge the competition alongside renowned jazz musician Gill Manly, filmmaker Melanie Scagliarini and the university’s Professor of Creative Writing, Alexandra Warwick.
The Advocacy Project helps marginalised communities to speak up, understand their rights and make positive choices. It works with people with learning disabilities, mental health problems, dementia and eating disorders to help them address the challenges of stigma, isolation and inequality. MX Display was delighted to support the charity and the event by providing 20 high quality freestanding printed recyclable cardboard displays, which were used to display the submitted poems at the event. Each panel was 1180mm x 2000mm tall and made from materials certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Our Sales Director, Dave Lister, said: “As a responsible business, we are passionate about putting something back into the communities we serve, so we were delighted to support this event.
Mental health touches many people, from those who experience it to their families and friends, so anything we can do to help raise awareness and break down the barriers which surround it is a good thing.”
“This event was a challenge to pull together as we were restricted on what we could and couldn’t do with the space we had available. Using the most environmentally friendly materials possible for this project was an essential component for us, as they were used for only a very short period of time.
Our team, as usual, came up with some really innovative, eye-catching displays to do some of the really moving, profound and creative submissions justice, so it was great to be involved.”