Category: Heads Together

November 12 – Attending Shout’s Crisis Volunteer Celebration Event

On November 12, 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended Shout’s Crisis Volunteer Celebration Event at the Troubadour White City Theater.

Shout is a text service developed by The Royal Foundation as a legacy of the Heads Together Campaign that was launched by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May of 2019.

In the announcement released in May, Kensington Palace said: “…Shout, [is a] a text messaging service available 24/7 to those struggling with mental health in the U.K. The program pairs users with trained volunteers to help those in need “move from a moment of crisis to a calm state and form a plan for next steps to find longer-term support…”

Volunteers have so far had 145,000 conversations and exchanged six million messages with those in crisis.

During the event The Duke and Duchess met volunteers, mental health campaigners, staff members, and supporters to learn about the service that supports people in crisis.

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Engagements & Tour Photos > 2019 > November 12 | Attending Shout’s Crisis Volunteer Celebration Event

The Cambridges & Sussexes Launch Mental Health Texting Service ‘Shout’

It’s been a busy week for the royals, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcoming their first child, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge traveling to Wales for a day of engagements, and Prince Harry visiting the Hague to launch an Invictus Games 2020 countdown. And now, both royal couples are coming together to launch an initiative that speaks to an issue they’ve long championed: mental health awareness.

The Cambridges and Sussexes have teamed up to debut Shout, a text messaging service available 24/7 to those struggling with mental health in the U.K. The program pairs users with trained volunteers to help those in need “move from a moment of crisis to a calm state and form a plan for next steps to find longer-term support,” according to a Kensington Palace announcement.

Shout is a part of the Royal Foundation’s Heads Together initiative, a campaign established in 2016 that works with a variety of charities to break the stigma around conversations surrounding mental health issues.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a joint statement about Shout:

“We are incredibly excited to be launching this service, knowing it has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable people every day. Over the last few months Shout has started working quietly behind the scenes. We have all been able to see the service working up close and are so excited for its future. At the heart of this service will be an incredible national volunteer community, one which needs to grow to allow us to support more people in crisis. We hope that many more of you will join us and be part of something very special.”

Prince William also appears in a launch video for the service, discussing the work that went into the launching the program. “Over the past few months, Shout has started working quietly behind the scenes,” he says. “Harry, Meghan, Catherine and I have been able to see the service working up close, and are very excited for its future.”

Shout already has a volunteer base of 1,000, but the organization hopes to increase that to 4,000 by the end of 2019. Prince William closes his message with a final call to action: “This will make a huge difference to people’s lives, and I really hope you will come and join our team.”

Source: Harpers Bazaar

January 17 – Heads Together Briefing Ahead Of London Marathon

January 17 – Heads Together Briefing Ahead Of London Marathon

Today, January 17, 2017 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince Harry held a briefing for their Heads Together Campaign ahead of the London Marathon at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The purpose of today’s engagement was to outline where they plan to take their charity in the year 2017. You can read what the Duchess had to say below, you can also read what The Duke and Prince Harry had to say at the Heads Together Official Website:

As William has said we have heard time and time again in the course of our work how talking can help heal the hidden challenges we can’t deal with alone. We have seen that two heads are better than one when dealing with a mental health problem.

Yet, the challenge that so many people have is not knowing how to take that first step of reaching out to another person for help. Admitting that they are not coping. Fear, or reticence, or a sense of not wanting to burden another, means that people suffer in silence – allowing the problem to grow larger and larger unchecked.

William, Harry and I have been very privileged to witness in the course of our work countless examples of simple conversations that have changed lives, which were the first step on a path to recovery. Just last week at the Anna Freud Centre, I heard from one mother how talking to a support worker was – in her words – like medicine. Simply by having someone there to have a conversation with helped her immensely.

So the question that William, Harry and I have asked ourselves is how we can get more people to start talking. How do we encourage people to take the first step.

What Heads Together is proposing is that in the weeks leading up to the Marathon, our campaign will showcase people from all walks of life, talking about the life-changing conversations that have helped them with their mental health challenges.

We hope that these real-life examples will serve as encouragement to others to do the same.

If we succeed with this, we will have taken a powerful step in normalizing mental health as an issue in our society, thinking about it as we do our own physical health.

Harry will explain more in a moment about what you can do to help us with this challenge.

But first I would like to introduce Jon, who is running for Heads Together in the Marathon; and Steve, who will tell you the story of how a conversation made such a big difference to their mental health.

Jon and Steve … thank you.

January 11 – The Duchess of Cambridge Visits The Anna Freud Centre & Child Bereavement UK Centre

January 11 – The Duchess of Cambridge Visits The Anna Freud Centre & Child Bereavement UK Centre

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season! In her first royal engagement of the year the Duchess of Cambridge visited The Anna Freud Centre of which she is Patron and also one of the charities partnered with the Heads Together Campaign. She focused her visit around the Early Years Parenting Unit to learn more about their work with families who have children under five years old. Catherine spent her time meeting with families and hearing their stories. On her second visit of the day she met up with the Duke of Cambridge to visit a Child Bereavement UK Centre in Stratford to help mark its one year anniversary. This is a charity that The Duke has been Patron of since 2009. During the visit the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met with individuals who work at the charity, met with famiies and participated in activities. I have added 440 high quality photos to the gallery. Enjoy!

October 10 – Celebrating World Mental Health Day At The London Eye With Heads Together

October 10 – Celebrating World Mental Health Day At The London Eye With Heads Together

Today, (October 10, 2016) was World Mental Health Day. Something we know that The Duchess of Cambridge is very serious about and has made it her mission to bring into the spotlight. To celebrate the day The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry held an event with their initiative, Heads Together at the County Hall and then at the London Eye on the South Bank, London.

The first event of the day was a reception with charities who are apart of their Heads Together campaign where TRH gave a joint speech and met with people who have received support. Following the reception they rode on the London Eye and took in the views.

I have added 400+ high quality photos to the gallery. Enjoy!

September 16 – Visiting Stewards Academy With Heads Together

September 16 – Visiting Stewards Academy With Heads Together

Friday, (September 16, 2016) The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Stewards Academy in Harlow, England in a joint engagement with charities Heads Together and Place2Be. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the school to find out more about the pressures faced by young students when they are going through big changes in their lives, and to learn about the support they recieve from peers and parents that can help them get through these changes. The pair spent two hours touring the facility and meeting with students and parents. I have added 301 high quality photos to the gallery. Enjoy!

August 25 – Visiting YoungMinds Mental Health Charity Helpline

August 25 – Visiting YoungMinds Mental Health Charity Helpline

Today, (August 25, 2016) The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went on a previously unannounced visit to the YoungMinds Mental Health Charity Helpline as part of their Heads Together Campaign. Youngminds is a charity that offers online and telephone support to parents and young adults who are struggling with everything from stress over exams to more serious issues of suicide. Their goal was to see what happens when individuals reach out for support. On their visit Their Royal Highnesses toured the facility, met with volunteers who work the helplines, received some of the essential training that is given to the volunteers and sat in on call sessions.

After the visit The Duchess told chief executive Sarah Brennan: “William and I found it absolutely fascinating, from hearing the case study and also taking the calls.” She said the types of calls were so varied – “what their worries are, their concerns.” She added: “What we’ve taken away is just how normal it is. We are parents ourselves, I am sure we will face worries – we do face worries, because we’ve got small young children. If those worries escalate, how vital it is to get support – and you are providing that support.” She added, “As a parent and as a mother, having that feeling that there is somebody there that is non-judgemental, that can provide the professional support, and that can really provide helping hand at a really difficult time”‘ – (Daily Mail)

Outfit Details: Catherine is wearing a L.K. Bennett ‘Eugenia’ dress, L.K. Bennett ‘Nina’ clutch, Gianvito Rossi 105 Suede Pumps, and Kiki McDonough Lauren earrings.

I’ve added 98 high quality photos to the gallery. Enjoy!

May 16 – Launch Of Heads Together Campaign

May 16 – Launch Of Heads Together Campaign

Today, May 16, 2016. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were in London for the launch of their Heads Together Campaign at at Olympic Park in London, England. The campaign aims to end the stigmas around mental health, and bringing awareness to the issues of individuals affected by it. The trio joined a variety of people from the mental health profession as well as members of their own supported charities to share ideas and information about programs to help individuals. The young royals also gave a joint speech outlining their expectations of the new initiative. You can watch the video above.