Claro Enterprises is a Starbeck charity offering those with mental health conditions a real work environment to find a routine and talk to others who may be feeling similar.

The charity was set up 35 years ago by Chris and Sue Brown. Ms Brown’s brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and they found giving him jobs on their farm would really help him but when the work stopped his mental health would decline.

At the time they couldn’t find any local services to support him so through lots of fundraising the pair set up Claro Enterprises to offer people with mental health disorders the opportunity to volunteer in a real work environment.

Over the years the charity has developed and now runs a workshop and a production line and has contracts with large companies such as Bettys and EnviroVent to make products.

On a daily bases, members might be creating wooden products from scratch, or rebranding or packing products for businesses.

Two men using the charity’s wood shop.

Operations manager, Helen Wilkinson, said:

“We have people who would struggle in a normal work environment but really benefit from having a routine. It works really well for people will mental health conditions and they can choose how often they come.

“There’s a real sense of community here.”

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The charity has around 35 members who can come as regularly as they want to work, it not only helps them but also gives their families a break.

The charity also runs courses throughout the year including self esteem and wellbeing, mindfulness, IT and basic maths and English.

Veterans Woodcraft, a group helping those with mental health issues and disabilities, have helped the charity’s members learn new woodcraft skills.

It is also the base for the Starbeck Men’s Shed and Women’s Shed. These groups are for anyone in the community to learn new skills and enjoy some company.

Ms Wilkinson said the end goal is to get the members “to a point where they can do what they want”:

“Some of our members have gone on to get full time jobs and work experience which is just amazing.”

The charity is always looking for new businesses to arrange work experience placements and provide work for the members to do at their premises to allow Claro to continue to offer their facilities to those who believe they could really benefit.

Miss Wilkinson added:

“It really is the bestest place in the world, we are just one big family.”

A report from a Harrogate-based organisation has found that 72% of young people said they had experienced mental health or well-being issues in the past year.

The research is part of a new report published by Healthwatch North Yorkshire. It says mental health services need “significant improvement” so more young people aged 16-24 can access the help they need.

As well as a survey, researchers organised focus groups at Harrogate College and Selby College to gather the views of young people.

Of those who said they had experienced poor mental health, only half said they sought help.

Reasons given for not seeking support included long waiting times to access support, the stigma surrounding mental health, and not knowing where to go.

Of those who did seek support, most respondents sought help from their GP, talked to friends and family, or got support at their school, college, or university.

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Those people who did get support from NHS services had a mixed response.

Some found the services helpful, but many raised concerns about long waiting times and fragmented services.

Helena, a young student involved with this research shared her own mental health experiences:

“Mental health and well-being are important topics that affect us all. However, this area still has a lot of stigmas around it, and there is a lot more that needs to be done to improve the mental health services across North Yorkshire and promote mental health across schools and colleges.

“Through personal experience I have come to value the importance of having support from all people, whether that is my friends or family, or the services provided locally, they are all vital in helping me to manage my own mental health.”

“I would call on all service providers in health and education to read this report and act on its recommendations and findings. Together we need to ensure that mental health services and support are equally provided cross the county.”

Read the full report here.

The mental health benefits of gardening are being celebrated at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show which starts tomorrow.

Designers from across the country will be creating a flash of floral inspiration aimed at showcasing the country’s growing connection with plants and flowers.

The four-day event at the Great Yorkshire Showground will feature ‘Grow Your Home’, a colourful installation created by floral stylists from Leeds-based Leafy Couture.

The display, featuring hundreds of blooms around a central courtyard setting, offers visitors a glimpse of the joys which flowers can bring, which was particularly highlighted during the pandemic.

Show director Nick Smith said:

“After a difficult time for many of us, this year’s Spring show concentrates entirely on the positives which plants and landscapes can bring to us all.

“Gardening is the great leveller – from sweeping lawns to a simple window box, we can all benefit from the life-affirming pleasure which plants and flowers can make to our own personal space.”

Harrogate Business Improvement District (BID) has chosen the flower show to launch its latest campaign – ‘A Floral Summer of Celebration’.

Between July 15 and August 12, the town centre will be home to a floral trail featuring 10 unique displays, floral-themed shop windows and events starring key speakers from the world of gardening.

Pictured at their art deco-themed flower show stand: From left, Harrogate BID Chair Sara Ferguson, BID manager Matthew Chapman, Blameys florist Fran Addis, BID business and marketing executive Bethany Allen, Blameys owner Ruth Fisher and BID business liaison officer Jo Caswell.

This will be in addition to dozens of hanging baskets outside town centre businesses, the numerous flower beds maintained by Harrogate Borough Council, more than 200 barrier baskets funded by Harrogate BID and some specially commissioned floral street art.

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Matthew Chapman, Harrogate BID manager, said:

“Harrogate is renowned for its floral displays; it’s the home to RHS Garden Harlow Carr, the stunning Valley Gardens, and of course the Spring Flower Show, which is one of the biggest and best in the North of England, if not the whole country.

“This summer, Harrogate Floral Summer of Celebration will see us celebrating our floral excellence and the return of Yorkshire in Bloom after a two-year absence.”

Featuring show garden features, plant nursery displays and floral art, the show will include plenty of colour, style and inspiration.

Local charities will also be showcasing their work, including Jennyruth Workshops in Ripon and Horticap in Harrogate.

This year the programme of live entertainment includes talks and demos across four stages.

A new show, ‘Human Gardener’ will offer a series of fun and engaging sofa conversations with the people behind the plants – from bee inspectors to fungi fanatics.

Over on the Gardener’s Kitchen stage, TV cook and chef consultant Stephanie Moon will create dishes from veg patch produce, with the help of grow-your-own guru Martin Walker. 

Meanwhile, the GROW! Live team will provide answers to  gardening questions, whilst the CREATE! Floral stage will host celebrity floral designer Jonathan Moseley.

Thousands of garden products, handmade crafts, gifts and specialist foods will also be on offer.

Tickets

Pre-booked tickets with a £3 saving on gate prices are available online until midnight tonight.

Thursday to Saturday tickets are £20.50 online, £23.50 on the gate.

Sunday tickets are £18 online, £21 on the gate.

Children under 16 are free when accompanied by an adult. General car parking is free.

A TikTok video of a man raising awareness of mental health in Harrogate town centre has gone viral.

The clip, by Ben Ogden on Cambridge Street, shows him standing with a sign saying: “If you’ve struggled with mental health, let’s talk”.

Mr Ogden is well known on TikTok for his videos talking to people on the street about mental health and has posted clips in Leeds and Skipton.

In Harrogate, he speaks with a woman, who is off camera, about her struggles with mental health.

Mr Ogden says in the video:

“We’re just trying to raise awareness for mental health and to let people know it’s alright to talk about it and it should be a normal conversation.”

@itsbenogden

It’s okay to talk 💬 #mentalhealthmatters #friends

♬ last chance – 🤍

The video has racked up 429,000 views on TikTok and has more than 21,000 likes and 200 comments.

Mr Ogden, who has nearly 50,000 followers on the social media platform, also published a video outside Sainsbury’s on Cambridge Street with a sign that reads: “If you’re missing your mum this Mother’s Day, let’s talk”.

The clip clocked up 465,000 views.

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The video becomes the latest TikTok in the Harrogate district to go viral this year.

In January, a Russian TikToker racked up a million views with a video of Knaresborough that she described as “a place in England so beautiful I can’t believe it’s real”.

In the same month, a bizarre video by DJ Zach Sabri, better known online as SUAT, showed the TikToker being told by National Trust staff that he cannot film at Brimham Rocks.

Mental health services for children are struggling to cope with an “exponential growth in demand” since the pandemic, NHS bosses have admitted.

The warning comes amid concerns the volume of children being referred for treatment could be “just the tip of the iceberg”.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s young people’s scrutiny committee was told despite increased mental health provision for children across England’s largest county, NHS waiting lists were soaring with the majority of children waiting for three months to be seen.

The extent of the issue in North Yorkshire has been exposed less than a week after a national Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation study revealed the impact of covid-19 had led to an unprecedented increase in demand for mental health services for children.

It warned a generation of children are at risk of being left behind because of a combination of soaring waiting times for services and the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on their mental health.

Rising waiting times, including for urgent cases, have come despite the Government’s response including £79 million nationally to accelerate previous plans to improve children’s wellbeing and mental healthcare provision in education and healthcare settings, as well as other initiatives.

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Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust bosses told the scrutiny meeting its community-based mental health team was now treating more than 2,500 children across the county, and referrals to its services had risen from about 100 a month at start of pandemic to more than 300 a month during 2021.

NHS and council health bosses emphasised the children’s mental health system was under great strain, exacerbated due to difficulties recruiting and retaining staff and increasing numbers of complex cases.

The meeting heard there had been a particular spike in the number of youngsters needing help for eating disorders.

Councillors were told just one in four of children found to need “urgent” help for eating disorders were being seen within the one-week national standard.

Councillors said they feared children, and in particular pre-school age and teenagers, had not had the normal chances to develop social skills during the pandemic, the impact on their mental health could be in the years to come.

Escrick councillor Richard Musgrave said: 

“I am deeply concerned that we are seeing the tip of the iceberg at the moment in terms of children’s and young people’s mental health.”

Selby councillor Stephanie Duckett added: 

“Rather than being at the peak of the problem we could just be at the start.”

In response, a boss for the NHS trust said it was forecasting an increase in demand for children’s mental health services over the next five years, but declined to reveal the extent of the expected rise.

A men’s shed is being set up for Harlow Hill to boost mental health and tackle loneliness in the area.

Men’s sheds are part of a wider organisation of ‘sheds’ that began in Australia. Their goal is to create a space for older men to come together to create and build while making friends. Women are welcome, too.

Sheds have been created over the past couple of years in Harrogate, Ripon and Pateley Bridge.

Harlow Hill’s men’s shed is being set up by local resident John Hart. He told the Stray Ferret he hopes the space will help men become more active whilst sharing how they feel.

He said:

“What has become apparent since covid is with men in particular and mental health issues, we don’t talk much about until we commit suicide.

“We need to do something to try and prevent it.”

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Men’s sheds have traditionally focused on developing practical skills, such as woodwork or toolmaking.

Mr Hart said the Harlow Hill men’s shed could also offer a variety of activities, from art or rambling to computer literacy.

He is the chairman of the Harlow Hill Community Centre, also known as the Green Hut, which will be utilised as the ‘shed’.

However, Mr Hart is also on the lookout for potential workshops, barns or buildings that could be used too.

He encouraged anyone living locally to give the men’s shed a try:

“Tell your dad, uncle or the bloke down the pub, let’s have a go.”

Mr Hart expects the Harlow Hill men’s shed to begin on Tuesday afternoons from later this month. Anyone with questions or who is interested in joining can contact him: johnrhart@live.co.uk

The festive season is over, payday seems like a lifetime away and there is often a sense of pressure to make big life changes at this time of the year.

And all of that is made worse by the fact it is still cold, dark, wet and miserable outside, with months to go until summer comes around.

So it is no surprise that Blue Monday – the ‘most depressing day of the year’ — falls in January.

Blue Monday usually falls on the third Monday of January, which this year is the 17th.

It appears to have originated in 2005 after a press release from Sky Travel used an equation to calculate the dreaded date.

So what should we do this year to beat those Blue Monday blues?

Harrogate life coach Lisa Duffield, owner of the Lisa Duffield Centre, has four tips.

1 Comparison is the thief of joy

“I wanted to share a little insight I have found within the clients I work with.

“Individuals that are suffering from what is branded the ‘January blues’ are all so focused on comparison.

“Comparison of this month to last month, this year to last year…

“You and your family’s goals or plans, compared to the family next door, or the family who you spend all your time watching on Instagram that you will never meet. And from this insight I bring you my first pill-free prescription to beat the case of January blues.

“Comparison is the single biggest waste of your time.

“Next time you find yourself comparing yourself to others or your life to others etc. just stop take a breath and if you insist on comparing yourself at all, think about you, how far have you come, what have you learned since yesterday, last year or even an hour ago.”

Harrogate life coach, Lisa Duffield.

2 Make realistic goals

“January blues can also shine through goal setting and unrealistic expectations.

“For some reason many of us believe that when the clock strikes 12 on January 1, you change into a new person, fitter, healthier, wealthier.

“Old traditions even show that we wish our first foot “all the wealth, health and happiness” for the New Year. While this is very kind, it does not mean that you have to become an overnight fitness fad and a self-made billionaire.

“Here comes the second tip, make realistic goals that you know you are able to achieve.

“You may have a big dream and that is amazing, but break it down into incremental chunks.

“Make smaller goals that you know will get to. They could be ‘eat more green veg’ or ‘move for an extra 30 minutes per day’, rather than ‘complete a bodybuilding competition and win in three months’.”

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3 Surround yourself with positivity

“Spend time with those who make you happy.

“Over Christmas many of us spend a lot of time with family and friends, we make the effort to go and see relatives that we haven’t seen since the year previous, or we say Merry Christmas to people in the street and smile.

“This makes us happy because we have also made others feel happy. Why stop?

“You can still spend time with ones you love and you can still engage with people in the street. A simple good morning or hello will work wonders.”

4 Try something new

“Last but not least. We’ve all heard it. ‘Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results’.

“It’s time to try something new.

“If you are looking for a different result in 2022 and maybe you are feeling a little deflated, step out of your comfort zone and try something new.

“You will be surprised the paths this teeny act can lead to, you meet new people, learn and experience new things.”

4 ways to cheer yourself up on Blue Monday – by Nina Meads

1 Go for a walk

Nidd Gorge, is one of the many scenic walks that explore nature in the Harrogate district.

In the Harrogate district, we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by stunning countryside. We really are spoilt for choice and personal favourites are Thruscross Reservoir, Nidd Gorge and Hookstone Wood. You also can’t beat a walk around the grounds at Fountains Abbey or Knaresborough waterside.

So lace up those walking boots and head out into the great outdoors. Fresh air and being amongst nature will boost your mood.

If you’re at work, grab a coffee and go for a stroll on your lunch break.

2 Pamper yourself

Rudding Park Spa.

If you want to really spoil yourself, book into Harrogate’s Turkish Baths or enjoy a spa session at Rudding Park, Grantley Hall or Swinton Park.

If money or time is tight, nothing beats a good bath and a book.

3 Do some exercise and practice mindfulness at a Festival of Wellbeing in Harrogate

A ‘festival of wellbeing’ is being held in Harrogate.

While it’s not taking place on Blue Monday itself, OneWellness, in Mowbray Square, is hosting a second Festival of Wellbeing on Saturday, January 15, to help boost mental health.

The free festival from 9am until 4pm, which is being run in association with Mind Harrogate, Sweaty Betty and Hustle & Co, will offer a range of fitness, nutrition and health classes and talks.

From mindfulness and wellbeing, relax and de-stress yoga, to Pilates, barre, and dance cardio classes, the wellbeing experts at OneWellness have tailored each lesson to suit everyone and help boost physical fitness levels whilst increasing positive wellbeing.

4 Meet a friend for a cuppa and cake

Betty’s Harrogate.

The Harrogate district has some of the best coffee shops and tearooms in the country, including lots of amazing independents and the famous Betty’s.

Arrange to meet a friend for a catch-up and lots of laughs. After all, laughter is good for the soul. Oh and don’t forget the cake. That’s essential.

Harrogate Town’s club secretary and female team player Abbey Smith is raising money for MIND by climbing Machu Picchu in Peru.

Ms Smith will trek 2,430 metres up to the ancient Inca citadel in May in the hope of raising £4,000 for the mental health charity.

Her fundraising efforts are part of RED January, a nationwide movement encouraging people to move every day and beat the winter blues. She will be hosting various raffles, events and will also run 100km in January to help reach her goal.

Abbey Smith

Ms Smith said:

“MIND is a charity that is close to my heart as it has helped friends and family in the past, and with the current covid situation across the globe I feel that now more than ever the charity needs as much support as possible, to be able to help with people’s mental health.”

You can donate by visiting her Just Giving page here – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/abbey-smith97

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January can be a pretty depressing month.

Our finances have usually taken a hit thanks to Christmas, we feel run-down due to the impact the festive season has had on our nutrition and sleep and the cold, gloomy days don’t help either.

Add to that the effect the pandemic has, and continues to have, on our mental health, it comes as no surprise some of us just want to lie down in a dark room and hibernate until spring.

If the past year has been a slog, these breaks focusing on nutrition, yoga and mindfulness in the Harrogate district can help restore balance, health and creativity.

Family and friends of Harrogate singer-songwriter Aaron Bertenshaw celebrated his life at a funeral in Bilton this morning.

A procession led by motorbikes, including some Harley-Davidsons, set off from the family home on Woodfield Road and arrived at St John’s and St Luke’s Church for the 11am service.

The service was broadcast live on the church’s Facebook page and can still be viewed there.

A wake was held afterwards at The Empress on the Stray.

Aaron Bertenshaw died suddenly last month.

Aaron, a former pupil at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died suddenly aged 26 last month. He had struggled with diabetes and mental health issues.

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Sammy Oates, Aaron’s mother, set up a fundraising page to help people with diabetes overcome mental health problems. That fundraiser is currently on £6,910.

The family said donations at the service would go to Diabetes UK and CALM, the campaign against living miserably.

Ms Oates is now campaigning for extra support for those who struggle with diabetes and mental health. She told the Stray Ferret previously:

“Aaron touched a lot of lives. He was only 26 but packed a lot in. He also worked as a barber and played rugby for Otley when he was young.

“He was such a bright shining star and an absolute social butterfly. Everyone knew him and he never had a bad word to say about anybody.

“What I remember most is his smile. He had the most infectious smile. There was always a twinkle in the eyes.”