PART of a North Wales charity is giving its support to this year's Mental Health Week (May 9-15).

Groundwork Training, part of the wellbeing and environmental charity, Groundwork North Wales is backing the event, the theme of which is loneliness, its effect on our mental health and how we can all play a part in reducing loneliness in our communities.

Loneliness affects millions of people in the UK every year and is a key driver of poor mental health.

Poor mental health is shown to be the number one reason people miss work, and organisations large and small are increasingly looking at running mental health training at work or in their voluntary groups to encourage mental wellbeing, both in the workplace and at home.

During Mental Health Awareness Week, Groundwork Training is raising awareness of the courses they run that can support organisations to raise awareness of mental illnesses, encourage early intervention to aid recovery, increases confidence in dealing with mental illnesses and reduce stigma around mental health issues.

They run a variety of mental health training courses to meet different needs, this ranges from awareness of first aid for mental health to youth mental health courses and courses for managers and supervisors.

Because Groundwork Training is part of Groundwork North Wales, it means positive mental health training is also at the heart of what they do in many of the community projects they deliver.

Teleri Jones is one of their trainers and has received some positive feedback from recent learners she has supported.

She said: "I have found the courses with Groundwork Training have really benefited my mental health. I have learnt a lot and made new friends.

"I have found the confidence course gave me some good techniques. I would recommend attending courses to help your self-esteem and make you feel less isolated.

"Working with Groundwork affected me very positively. Thanks to the course I was motivated to go out from home, meet new people and get involved in other projects. My confidence improved and I gained new knowledge and skills."

• For more details, visit www.groundworknorthwales.org.uk/training or contact the Training Team at training@groundworknorthwales.org.uk