Let's Talk Health & Wellbeing: North East

28/05/2026

You know what sucks more than anybody could ever possibly know about living with chronic illness/disabilities, unless you're going through it yourself or are close to somebody experiencing it

The fact that, it takes me 2-3 days to prepare my body and my mind, just to go out for half a day and spend some time with my family

The fact that, after I have been out for half a day, my body will need 2-3 days of doing practically nothing to recover physically and mentally from that half a day out

The fact that, 6 years on from my diagnosis of 3 bulging spinal discs, 3 years on from my diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis, 2 years on from a firm diagnoses of thoraculumbar scoliosis, despite being told its been getting progressively worse as ive been growing from my teenage years and 1 year on from my diagnosis of fibromyalgia...I have watched myself deteriorate from being somewhat active to the above....within 6 years! Yes I have all of these simultaneously

The fact that, jobs that others take for granted, like hoovering the car, or washing the dishes, takes all of the above, time to prepare, more time to actually do the task, and recovery afterwards. Where, in my 20's I could do a full day's housework and barely break a sweat. These days, im breathing out of my arse after hoovering 1 level of the house and carrying the hoover downstairs

The fact that, to the outside world, I look like your average 38 year old, able bodied, dad bod (my weight has barely fluctuated in the last 10 years 🤣)...but on the inside, the time it has taken me to get as far as other people seeing me, the task im doing almost becomes null and void

The fact that, I, like many other disabled people, will be labelled a scrounger, told that I should 'get a job' and 'stop milking the system. The fact that I will be compared to another disabled person, possibly somebody's brother, sister, mum or dad, who has the same conditions, or something worse, and they manage to work

The fact that people will make out that I have a 'free car paid for by the taxpayer' when I pay money that is used to help me with the extra costs of my multiple disabilities and that car is the only source of independence that I still have, enabling me to get out of the house and feel like a human for once

The fact that, I can say all of this, and it won't make a single bit of difference, people will still blindly judge, people will still discriminate, people will still compare, people will still tell me im a lazy scrounger. And whats worse, they don't even know the half of it, despite the mammoth length of this post

I still haven't gotten into a majority of the psychological issues, caused by all of the above and so much more. People will still not see the pain behind the mask, the fact that I have tried to end my own life 6 times in the last 5 years (yes, I fail at that too 🤣) most recently a month ago, because I would give anything to go back to being able bodied

I used to run, 5k and 10k road races for charity. I used to climb mountains, I used to bike ride, I used to do so many things and disability has taken all of that and more away from me! So go ahead, judge me for my seemingly normal outward appearance, judge me for the fact that I don't (can't) work or that I'm fleecing the system, but just bear in mind the rest of this post before you do...karma has a funny way of repaying those kinds of attitudes

29/04/2026

As part of our campaign for crisis handling and mental health awareness training for emergency service staff, we are looking for anyone working for any of the emergency services in any capacity

From frontline police officers, firefighters, paramedics, coastguards to call handlers, to civilian staff and everyone in between, we would like to gather your opinions on the current level of training provided for mental health crisis situations and general mental health awareness and how you feel about our proposals and how they could help

Could you respond to a crisis situation and be both professional but also connect with the person in crisis in a personal manner, offering that genuine human connection and making the person in crisis feeling heard when they need it most?

Could you recognise the signs and symptoms of one of your colleagues suffering from a decline in their mental health? Would you know what to do and how to act and talk to them to help them? Would you feel confident in knowing which services to refer them to if they need help?

Please share this post and, if anyone is currently working with the emergency services in any capacity, please respond and give us some feedback and feelings on the proposals

Mandate mandatory training for all frontline emergency service staff to recognise and handle mental crisis situations, especially if someone is in immediate danger. This training should include training on mental health awareness.

28/04/2026

My petition has officially been accepted and published by the Government Petitions Team. The petition calls for mandatory crisis handling training for frontline emergency service staff, as well as mandatory mental health awareness training for ALL emergency service staff, both frontline and those working in offices, call centres, etc

There needs to be an established and accepted level of mental health training across emergency services, frontline staff need to be able to switch off 'professional mode' and connect with somebody in crisis on a personal level to assist them in getting the help they need

When in crisis, most people shy away from talking to emergency services, they want to know that they're actually being heard, their issues are being taken into account and know that somebody understands them. That's what will save even more lives in the long run

As well as the crisis training, ALL staff should be able to recognise the basic signs of declining mental health, and know what to do to initially help that person, know what to suggest for them to get help, and know how to be there for somebody and hopefully stop them from declining even further

A job in the emergency services can be some of the most physically and mentally demanding jobs in the world. They have to deal with real life and death incidents every day. They are all modern day heroes and often, their mental health gets ignored or brushed aside as they are supposed to just 'deal with it, its the job'

Recognising the signs and symptoms of declining mental health will keep these heroes on our streets, helping others and will help to ensure that they are looked after, especially during stressful events and shifts that may hit a little differently

Please sign and share this petition as far and wide as you can, mental health isn't talked about enough, is stigmatised heavily and more support should be put in place, for EVERYONE ❤️

Mandate mandatory training for all frontline emergency service staff to recognise and handle mental crisis situations, especially if someone is in immediate danger. This training should include training on mental health awareness.

27/04/2026

Can we get a massive shout out to the birthday boy Jason Rossiter happy birthday mate from us admin and group

Dave

26/04/2026

Having a much needed break tomorrow as I celebrate becoming 38 years young. So the page and group may be a bit quiet tomorrow. Normal service resumes on Tuesday and plenty of meetings over the next 2-3 weeks...hopefully register as a CIC next week as well

Any urgent issues though the whatsapp and messenger is always open so reach out if you need

Jason
Founder

24/04/2026

Busy as ever in the background. Had a meeting with Catalyst in Stockton today to enquire about next steps...

Hoping to resubmit the registration to become a CIC next week which will open the door to possible funding. Along with the phone call with Stockton Council's Community Engagement Team yesterday we are making real headway with opening our first hub

Lots more meetings and calls booked in over the next 2-3 weeks including getting involved with the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust and attending a few venues to talk about the services that we offer

Due to the lack of public engagement on the posts on this page and in our group, we are going to be mainly creating events and activities for people to attend once our hubs are up and running and we get some regular members

Just as a reminder we are opening one hub in Stockton and we are looking to open one in Durham due to the high level of interest received from the Durham area.

Lots to come over the next month or so, as ever. If you would like to get involved, please let me know

23/04/2026

This afternoon I get to discuss with Stockton Borough Council our requirements for opening our first hub. Fingers crossed this means our first physical hub in the Tees Valley will be opening very soon

Also, this morning I submitted my name for consideration to be elected to the Council of Governors for the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust

Governors hold the board to account and have a big hand in shaping the services that are provided by the trust, including mental health services.

So please, if you are covered by this NHS trust and see an email regarding the governor elections, please consider voting to help improve the services provided to you and please consider me as your nomination for Stockton-on-Tees

21/04/2026

A little bit more progress happening behind the scenes

On thursday this week i have a telephone meeting with the Community Engagement Team at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to discuss our requirements for a physical hub and where we could realistically set up within Stockton

I am also in discussions with another CIC and hopefully making some progress on setting up in Durham.

To that end, we are looking for a few extra volunteers to help run the hubs when they open up. I will be taking charge of the Stockton Hub for the time being so if you're interested in volunteering either in Stockton or Durham please let me know :)

18/04/2026

So, there has been a couple of things bugging me recently...

Firstly, I enquired about us getting involved in the Safe Places Scheme when we open our hubs, only to find out that my town has repeatedly refused to join the scheme since 2017, despite it only costing £7.60 per week.

The Safe Places Scheme provides a huge amount of resources to businesses, community organisations, youth clubs, basically anyone in Stockton who wants to get involved. These resources include tips and guides on staying safe in various locations, provides businesses with signage, telling members of the public that a certain venue is a safe place, in case a person ever runs into trouble or needs assistance

Amd what is more, the £7.60 per week would allow almost an unlimited number of businesses to add themselves as a safe place, therefore ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the general public. Despite me reaching out to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council many times with different issues, they haven't responded in weeks, I wonder if they will this time

Secondly, back at the beginning of the year, I reached out to all 26 of the MP's that represent the North East of England, introducing them to our service and asking for any assistance that they may be able to provide to help get us established within their communities.

After all of these emails, I only received ONE reply, ONE out of 26! And that reply came from Chris McDonald for Stockton North, the MP for my constituency. That bothers me greatly, because it shows that 25 MP's don't give a damn about the health and wellbeing of the residents which they represent on the national stage

15/04/2026

Our first email newsletter has just been sent :) thank you to everyone that signed up to the newsletter either by contacting me or leaving your email at a networking event

If you would like to receive the newsletter when our next one goes our, please comment below or message the page and provide your email address :)

15/04/2026

Hey everyone,

I would like to try and open a hub in Durham and Teesside simultaneously. I am heading up the opening of the first Teesside Hub so I would be looking for somebody who lives in Durham County to oversee things there

The reason for this is, we have been getting a lot of interest across Teesside and Durham, more so than other areas of the north east. Which tells me one thing, these are the 2 key places where our services are needed the most

Training and qualifications aren't necessary as full training will be provided once we can secure funding. Lived experience in any of the areas that we provide support is essential as a majority of our services are provided through our own experiences

I would also welcome some assistance with getting things moving on Teesside as well 😀

Please comment on this post or email enquiries@letstalknortheast.org and please share to any Durham based groups on facebook