We are delighted to have raised £238,000 for Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind from NHS Charities Together.

Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind support people of all ages in the Tees Valley to enjoy good mental health. They specialise in helping the most vulnerable and socially excluded people in their community - one-in-three people they support live in the 1% most deprived areas nationally.

With funding from NHS Charities Together, Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind will work in partnership with Middlesbrough Environment City, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, Barefoot Kitchen, Investing in People and Culture and Youth Focus North East. Over two years, they will empower people from Middlesbrough's most deprived communities to advance their mental health and wellbeing and reduce isolation by accessing nature-based community activities for the first time.

Participants will receive long-term, one-to-one support from a Nature Wellbeing Engagement Officer. They will co-develop a goals-based activity plan of nature-based activities and learn new coping strategies. Activities will include green exercise such as walking groups, community gardening and food growing projects and outdoor volunteering.

Through a combination of mental health awareness and peer support training, Middlesbrough & Stockton Mind will build social capacity within existing volunteer-led community groups to support people with mental health problems and complex social issues. They will also deliver training to health and social care professionals, including Social Prescribers, to demonstrate the benefits of nature-based activities for mental health.

We are delighted our application has been successful.