Solent Mind’s supporters and stakeholders joined us for our annual celebration event earlier this month, which also saw John Wilderspin hand over to our new Chair of Trustees, Claire Lowe.

Held on Thursday 14 November at Blake Morgan LLP in Southampton, the evening was a chance to celebrate Solent Mind’s achievements over the past year and to formally announce the change in leadership.

John Wilderspin, who has served as Chair of Trustees for 6 years, passed the baton to Claire Lowe, an experienced leader with a passion for mental health advocacy.

In his farewell address, John reflected on Solent Mind’s progress during his tenure, including the growth in the number of mental health services our charity is now offering to people in the local area.

He said: “It has been a privilege to serve as Chair of Trustees for Solent Mind. I'm constantly impressed by the work carried out by our staff and volunteers; their compassionate and caring approach has been a real inspiration to me.

“As I hand over to my successor, Claire Lowe, I'd like to extend my thanks to them as well as everyone in our communities who fundraise and support us in so many different ways.”

Incoming Chair, Claire Lowe, brings with her experience of leadership, governance and relationship building, coupled with a passion for mental health advocacy. As a CEO in the education sector, Claire has witnessed first-hand the profound effects of socio-economic disadvantage on mental health, especially within underserved areas.

She said: “My career has focused on raising standards, building effective governance, and supporting communities, particularly through my role leading an educational trust in Southampton and Hampshire. I’ve seen how challenges with parental mental health directly affect our students, highlighting a critical lack of resources to support these families.

“As Solent Mind Chair, I want to help ensure that our reach is extended more widely to support those most vulnerable in society. Everyone deserves access to compassionate and effective mental health care. I am honoured to take on this role and build on the incredible foundation laid by John.”

The annual celebration event also highlighted Solent Mind’s achievements over the last year, and featured Dr Lesley Stephens from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, as guest speaker.

An inspiring story of the power of peer support was also shared with participants by the Southampton Peer Support team.

Kat Morley shared her experiences of bipolar, and the huge difference that peer support has made to her life. Now working in the Southampton team herself, Kat spoke about her peer worker, Cat Dunnell’s ‘life-changing’ support. And, Cat, who also lives with bipolar, shared how important it is that service users, like Kat, know that they are not alone.

Sally Arscott, Solent Mind CEO, added: “It is a challenging time for mental health across the country. People are accessing our services more, often more unwell. And with funding cuts, we are having to do more with less.

“At Solent Mind, we are committed to making sure we can reach those people who need us most, and I am really proud of what we’ve achieved over the past year.

“I’d like to give my heartfelt thanks to John Wilderspin for his fantastic work over the last 6 years, and I want to welcome Claire Lowe, who I know will continue to build on the work that John has already done for mental health in Hampshire.”

In 2023/24, people across the region have accessed Solent Mind’s services 48,000 times. Our crisis centres have supported 4,000 incidents. 1,700 people have been supported to secure, sustain or move closer to employment. 4,000 people have been supported by Solent Mind’s wellbeing centres. And we’ve received more than 3,000 philanthropic donations.

To view Solent Mind’s annual report 2023/24, visit: https://www.solentmind.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/