Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram committed to improving mental health at work

STEVE Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, is championing a campaign to promote good mental health and wellbeing at work, in support of World Mental Health Day. The Combined Authority and Growth Platform have produced a series of short videos from local people sharing their perspective on mental health and encouraging everyone to talk about it. The Growth Platform website is signposting businesses and individuals to a range of resources, from organisations including:- the Zero Suicide Alliance, Mental Health 1st Aid England and Mind. Employers can access discounted Mental Health 1st Aid Training via the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's Be More Skills Funding programme. Information is available from the Growth Platform's Skills Brokerage Service.

Speaking about the initiative, Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- "The workplace can be a stressful environment at times. We know that the last 18 months have made existing challenges worse, and posed new ones. A lot of people have been struggling as a result. 1 of the biggest things we can each do is to learn to recognize some of the signs that a colleague might be struggling. There's some simple training and other resources available to use. Much of it is free and you can do it from home. I want everybody to know that it's okay to be not okay. You are not alone. There is support out there and I hope that by raising awareness more people feel comfortable talking about mental health and getting the support they need."

Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Asif Hamid MBE, said:- "Businesses can help their employees mental health by creating a healthy workplace, promoting an active lifestyle and most importantly by being flexible. Fostering a culture and an environment where talking about mental health is encouraged is a starting point. I would encourage all employers to head to the Growth Platform website and take a look at the resources available that can help you and your employees. Together we can help make difference to the health and wellbeing of workers across Liverpool City Region."

Mayor Steve Rotheram intends to stage an event focused on mental health at work later in the year, delivered with The Good Business Festival. Plans will be announced soon. Helpful resources are available at the Growth Platform website.

Rock Choir launches its new term in Ormskirk, Maghull, Southport, St Helens and Wigan, under the guidance of a new Leader - Luke Freeney

AFTER a long 18 months, Rock Choir Members from:- Ormskirk, Maghull, Southport, St Helens and Wigan have reunited for live singing rehearsals and are experiencing the huge benefits of social singing for the 1st time since the start of the Pandemic. The largest contemporary choir in the world, Rock Choir, has officially kicked off its Autumn term, in:- Ormskirk, Maghull, Southport, St Helens and Wigan under the guidance of new Rock Choir Leader, Luke Freeney. As Rock Choir opens its doors to live rehearsals for the 1st time since the start of the Pandemic, Luke is delighted to be able to welcome the Members, also known as:- 'Rockies' back into the rehearsal room once again.

During the height of lockdown, Rock Choir had to move all of its rehearsals online, teaching and rehearsing with Members via Zoom and YouTube sessions. The community spirit of Rock Choir really flourished during this time, and local Rockies maintained vital connections with their fellow singers by organising online charity events, quizzes and a host of social activities; providing a life line; to those isolated by the Covid Pandemic.

As most restrictions have now been lifted, Rock Choir is able to gather for indoor rehearsals and harmonise together for the 1st time in 18 months. The new Autumn term will give Rock Choir Members the chance to learn 4 new, specially arranged songs including the uplifting:- 'Make your own kind of music,' by Paloma Faith.

In addition to the live rehearsals, Rock Choir is giving those who prefer or need to remain isolated the opportunity to take part in the Autumn term with the launch of the National Online Rock Choir. To ensure they don't miss a single note, Members can learn all of the songs from the comfort of their own homes and can rejoin the live Choirs whenever they are ready to do so.

Local Rock Choir Leader, Luke Freeney, said:- "It has been such a joyful experience to finally meet the Rockies and hear them sing together in harmony after such a difficult time apart. Our Members have been so committed to Rock Choir and their determination to keep singing and to keep those social connections alive during lockdown was inspiring. Rock Choir is like a family and to see that family back together and to witness the healing power of singing and socialising in person is very special. We would love to welcome anyone who would like to join Rock Choir this term and invite people of all ages and abilities to come and be a part of this fantastic group of singers."

Caroline Redman Lusher, Creator and Creative Director of Rock Choir has been highlighting the importance of group singing and the powerful positive impact it has on mental health and well being. Caroline Comments:- "I am overjoyed that our 'Rockies' have been allowed to regroup and sing together inside once again. It's been a long and emotional 18 months waiting for this moment to happen. I'm so proud of all the Rock Choir Members and my dedicated Rock Choir team who passionately led our choirs with the love, energy and positivity that Rock Choir is famous for. The nation's mental health is at its worst and the services and support to combat loneliness, depression and anxiety are in huge demand and oversubscribed. Allowing choirs to reunite across the whole of the UK will now have a tremendous and positive impact and allow a healing process to begin for those who take part. Choirs of all types provide a life line and this life line can now be reinstated."

If you would like to come along and see what Rock Choir is all about, sign up for a free taster session at your local Rock Choir today at:- RockChoir.Com.

Update on the disruption to our local news and web services

OVER the last 2 weeks we have been working hard to install a new server and services for our readers, but it is taking longer than we expected. This scheduled work has been delayed since last year, due to the Covid restrictions and as a result, we decided to do the work in a block, rather than over a number of months, as was originally planned. We hope that this move will get our new services online faster and we can get back to normal operations quicker. This means we are still doing work on all our systems, so please do not worry if we go offline at times, over the next 3 weeks, we will keep down time as minimal as possible. Sadly, as we started the move to our new servers, our old host was been hit by an Denial of Service (DoS) attack that affected our old systems, followed by a hacking attempt. We would like to thank the Cybercrime Unit, within the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) for assistance and their continued help. We can confirm that no privet information was taken during this attack. This is not connected to our email issue we are currently having, as this email issue is down to us moving the systems over and is only temporary. Sadly, it is an unwanted side effect of the planned work being undertaken. As a result of all our work, we hope to bring in some fantastic opportunities for local businesses and community groups to get noticed. Plus, we will soon be offering some very exciting custom services for our advertisers! For more information, please do call us on:- 01704513569.