From Thursday (September 10) , Shawmind is inviting people to take part in its month-long activity to encourage gentle exercise, raise funds and increase awareness around suicide, mental health and wellbeing.

The campaign, Walk a Mile in My Shoes, aims to get people thinking - and most importantly- talking to one another about mental health and emotional wellbeing while they walk a mile between World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10) and World Mental Health Day on October 9.

Supporters will walk alone, with members of their household or with a friend, while adhering to the latest Government advice on social distancing.

They might chart their miles throughout the month or simply build themselves up to a couple of miles by the end of the month. The campaign is open to all abilities.

Peter Wingrove, CEO at Shawmind, said: “As well as providing an opportunity for people to get out and enjoy some fresh air we hope participants will use Walk a Mile in My Shoes to address the stigma surrounding mental ill health and talk more openly about their wellbeing needs.

“Funds raised through this campaign will go directly to training primary and secondary school teachers in basic mental health support, which is important because they are the front line of mental health in our classrooms.

“75 per cent of diagnosable mental health conditions present before a child’s 18th birthday, so it’s crucial that teachers are well prepared to deal with mental health and can recognise the signs of children in distress”.

“It costs £100 to train each teacher and we would like to train 151,000 in the next five years, so that they can make a real difference to the lives of young people now and in the future. To achieve this, we are asking people to get behind us and Walk a Mile in My Shoes.”

At the end of their first mile, walkers are encouraged to upload a photo or video to their social media channels and tell everyone about Walk a Mile in My Shoes, before challenging four friends to do the same.

Walkers are invited to tag @Shawmind_ in the posts and use the hashtag #WalkAMileInMyShoes.

Shawmind will share as many posts as possible during the campaign and will release a montage video featuring as many posts as possible on World Mental Health Day on October 9.

Fundraisers are welcome to set up their own fundraising page or they can call for donations to be made directly through Shawmind’s Just Giving or Go Fund Me pages or through Facebook.

Similarly, if they prefer to collect donations in cash and transfer it to the charity, they can send cheques or a transfer via PayPal, or via BACS/EFT into the charity’s bank account. Visit shawmind.org/donate for more details.