We were recently nominated for an award at the Kent Mental Health and Wellbeing awards for our Peer Support Groups project. We are overjoyed to announce that we won not one, but two awards!

At the Kent Mental Health and Wellbeing awards ceremony at the Ashford International hotel, bemix won the Peer Mentor Award (business) and Overall Peer Mentor Champion.

On the night of the ceremony, bemix Peer Support Group Facilitator, Sammy, attended the awards and said: “I'm overwhelmed and shocked. It's been an emotional night."

After the event, Sammy added "It was quite nice to actually get out… it was the first time I'd been out in ages." 

Sammy and Louise at the awards ceremony

bemix Head of Wellbeing, Louise, added “It's so wonderful to hear about the amazing people and work that has been happening in Kent and Medway to support mental health. A privilege to be part of it."

Receiving the awards has been reassuring and confidence boosting for the group's facilitators, who are now welcoming 3 more Peer Support Group facilitators into the team.

The award is very much an achievement of the whole Peer Support Group, who met online from November 2020 to April 2021, supporting one another through the challenges of Covid-19 and a second lockdown.  

Peer Support Group Facilitator, Jess, said: 

“I'm so pleased we've been able to celebrate the work of the peer support group with these awards. Watching the group bond and discover how to support one another as the weeks went on was the biggest highlight by far for me, as a facilitator, being able to give as well as receive support is really powerful and everyone in Peer Support Group really embraced this”

Kent Mental Health Awards Overall Champions

The weekly Peer Support Group was set up to help people with learning difficulties or autism learn about looking after their mental health, talk about their feelings and support one another. Read more about our Peer Support groups, in our story Peer Support - Mental Health and Wellbeing.

We hope that winning these awards will help us secure funding to continue the Peer Support Groups into the future.

Sammy and Louise receiving the Peer Mentor Champion Award. Presented by double Olympian and mental health advocate, Jack Green (the patron of Mind). Also presented by Louise Sills, Operations Manager at Stagecoach

Peer Support Group has now started meeting up again online every Friday and has plans to co-produce a wellbeing toolkit in the near future, to enable people with learning difficulties and/or autism to explore and create new ways to manage their mental health, which are unique to them.  

Thank you to our award hosts at South Kent Mind, as well as double Olympian and mental health advocate, Jack Green and Louise Sills, Operations Manager at Stagecoach for presenting our awards. We were delighted to share a table with the team at Mind and Body's We Are With You - thank you for your company! 

Congratulations to all of the winners and champions at the 2021 awards! 

To read more about our Peer Support Groups and Wellbeing at bemix, take a look at:

Peer Support at bemix is nominated for an award!

Peer Support - Mental Health and Wellbeing

Wellbeing and Counselling at bemix