During the course of the last ten years, a series of studies have noted the increased stresses on frontline workers involved in caring, healthcare or mental health work. Increases in burnout, higher prevalence of stress/anxiety or the specific pressures involved in giving out to others have all been identified (NHS/Mental Health Foundation.)
During the pandemic we worked hard to support key workers and so we’re delighted to be focusing again on supporting those people who support and care for us and others. Space to Breathe are partnering with Voluntary Action Sheffield and Compassionate Sheffield to run a series of free-to-access wellbeing activities and support up to at least March 2024.
The first phase of this work has been to do some research amongst frontline workers in the city. Of those who’ve responded (58 ppl so far), 31% said their mental health and wellbeing was either “struggling”, “not good” or “really bad.” When questioned, work stresses and the importance of workplace culture came through particularly.
In order to begin to address this we’ll be launching three initiatives in the coming term:
A twice weekly Mindfulness for Frontline Workers session (30 minutes, delivered by Zoom)
Creating a Culture of Wellbeing: a session for Voluntary Sector Leaders, looking at the organisational steps that can be taken to support wellbeing. (In our survey, 64% of respondents saw this as a key issue.)
Resourcing and retreat days for Voluntary Sector Frontline Workers. We’ll be hosting a number of days that can be booked into for free, providing either tools and resources to build your own wellbeing, or space to get away from the bustle of everyday work and reflect.
You can find details of what’s going on in our events section ( or click on these upcoming events below)
One other element we want to explore to offer one-to-one support. 71% of you saw this as a crucial service to offer. This one-to-one offer is still being finalised but our plan is to be able to offer help either through a one-off wellbeing session or through a series of coaching or counselling sessions. If this would be something that would help you or a colleague, you/they can complete an expression of interest below on our project pages or email us at info@spacetobreatheuk.com.
They’ll be more sessions and support coming soon, including a Facebook group to hold everything together. Keep watching this website for more.