#ThanksNL

#TalkToNL for #NLAW15

#IAmFeeling for Nightline Awareness Week 2015! :)

10 Ideas To Kickstart (And Continue) Your Ambassador Journey

Why should you become a London Nightline Ambassador? Apart from the snazzy title, you will help Nightline reach out to more students within your university. You can also fundraise to aid Nightline in the important work that it does, while gaining invaluable experience.

After some contemplation, you are convinced. You would like to represent London Nightline at your university. However, you might think you have little or no experience in publicity or fundraising and are not sure where to start. But with training, your enthusiasm and the following list, you will have no reason to worry.

List of Possible Events or as I like to call it, How to Ambassador?

1)  Social Media Campaign

In today’s world where a majority of the students have access to social media, tweets and posts can be the biggest publicity assets to reach as many people as possible. The set-up is relatively simple: think of a fun and relevant social media campaign and try to get it viral. Ask your friends, family, neighbours, flatmates, fellow commuters and anyone else you can think of to participate and share it. The official social media platforms of London Nightline will be happy to help, as well as with any other events organised. Some examples of successful campaigns in the past have included a Q&A on Facebook, #pjsfornightline and #askNL.

2)    The Other Kinds of Media

Perhaps you feel that you cannot contain your enthusiasm within Twitter’s 140 characters? You could contact the magazines and newspapers of your university and write an article to spread the word about London Nightline. You could also get in touch with your university radio and organise a segment around Mental Health and London Nightline.

      

3)    Bear Hug Events

The description of this quintessential London Nightline event is in the name. You invite Nightline’s champion hugger and mascot, Neville, to provide students with a warm, friendly hug. His hugging skills have won him many awards over the years*. This presents a great photo opportunity as well as a chance for you to talk to students about what Nightline can offer them. Couple this with a social media campaign and you will have a hit on your hands.
*May be anecdotal

4)    Tea/Coffee Mornings

What better way to get the attention of bleary eyed students in the morning than offering them their caffeine fix in return for a quick chat about Nightline? Jazz it up with biscuits or cakes if you wish. This event has been run successfully by various organisations, most notably Macmillan.  

5)    A ‘TEDx’ Style Event
You could organise a mini-conference, inviting internal and/or external speakers to talk about Mental Health. The event can be further enhanced by introducing interactive workshops aimed at taking care of students’ mental health. 

6)    Confessions of a Student Campaign
‘Confessions’ is another popular Nightline event. On a postcard, students can write a confession – it can be anything: big, small, funny, serious etc. This reflects the ethos of Nightline: anyone can call in, no matter what their problem is. Confessions can be anonymously posted on London Nightline’s social media accounts to increase the publicity range. This event closely follows the principle of another global campaign, Post Secret.

7)    Personal Challenges A.K.A Sponsored Events
Is there something you’ve wanted to do for a while but have always been a little scared or busy to do it? Why not take it up as a challenge and raise money for Nightline at the same time? You could also rope in friends or family to give you company. It could be any event; a marathon, bike ride or the toughest challenge of them all: switching your phone off for a day, to name a few. There are a number of websites that can aid you in organising donations such as JustGiving.

8)    Bake Sale

A bake sale is one of the simplest ways to fundraise and promote Nightline. The nation’s love of all things baked has been reignited ever since Mary Berry graced our television screens with the Great British Bake-off, so why not try this simple recipe for cupcakes inspired by our beloved mascot, Neville?

.Recipe Here

9)    Grants

You can apply to the government, local councils or charities to obtain grant money, from as little as £50 up to £3000. While an application might seem a little daunting, Nightline will provide you with the necessary support. Another plus: this can be done from the comfort of your own room.

10) Miscellaneous Fundraising Events

There are a number of ways you can fundraise that are not just limited to collection buckets. Ticketed charity events such as Battle of the Bands, bowling, go karting etc are another great option. You could also contact other societies at your university and collaborate with them in organising a fundraising event.  

As an Ambassador, you will be expected to do a minimum of two events a term. Any one of the above ideas would count as an event, but feel free to get creative and remember to have fun! London Nightline will support you throughout with training, information, publicity materials as well as providing a small budget where necessary. If you have any queries, you can always turn to the friendly Ambassador’s Officer or the Coordinator. By being a part of the lovely London Nightline family, you will get a chance to work alongside your peers who are passionate about mental health and want to make a difference.

For more information about the programme, visit the website. The 2015/2016 application form can be found here.

Best Wishes,

Gauri

What is Nightline?

Nightline is a confidential listening and practical information service run by students, for students. We're here to listen not lecture and we're open every night of term, available by phone, text, email or skype chat. All our volunteers are current students at universities in London.

Well, those are the official party lines.

Us in terms of contacting us

Nightline really can listen to you talk about anything. Sure there's the stereotypical student problems of approaching deadlines, stressful exams, homesickness and relationships, but we're here to talk about anything and everything. We also take calls from students at the OU, so we quite frequently listen to calls about feeling lonely without coursemates, family problems and money issues as well. We're entirely anonymous so you can tell us anything, even if you think it's embarrassing or you're not quite sure what you're saying is right- we're here to talk things through no matter the subject.

We're here so you can talk through any problem from start to finish. We won't interrupt or make the conversation about us- in that way, we're not like your friends in that your call is all about you. We'll try and help you explore your options and hopefully by the end of your call you'll feel like someone cares- because we do! We're not counsellors- we're just here to support you through what may be one of the toughest points of your life.

We're entirely confidential as well, so we won't tell anyone outside of Nightline anything about you. Nobody will ever know you've called us- which is a shame because we're great at conversation. You'll never hear a volunteer going 'Oh, last night I heard from this one guy, and he told me all about his essays, and omg so much work!'. It also means you can call us with different problems- we're not going to turn around and say 'Oh no, we've already listened to you.'

There really is nothing too big or too small to call us about. We take suicide calls like a lot of helplines, but we also talk friendship issues, give out numbers for pizza places, help you locate information about medical services- we really can do it all. You do not have to be depressed or suicidal or even unhappy in the slightest way to call us. We're open overnight as well when many helplines are closed, so we often get asked if we can help callers to fall asleep. The only thing we don't do is give advice, because we don't know the whole situation and what would work best for you.

We can however give you information and give you links to other services that will give you advice. We're basically a much cooler version of the yellow pages, plus a listening ear, all rolled into one.

We understand that not all London students will speak English as their first language, and whilst we can't offer services in any other languages, we do offer an instant messaging service or an email service if you'd like to write things down instead of speak out loud.

Us in terms of social media

We exist on facebook, twitter, blogger and instagram primarily to promote the use of Nightline to students, but we also run information campaigns and in person support via our wonderful mascot Neville the bear, who can be found on university campuses giving free hugs.

Our information campaigns are normally in the form of the #askNL chat on twitter, run every other week as a collaboration between nightlines all over the country discussing different topics. The #AskNL tweets are then collated here!

LOVE FROM KATIE XOXOXOXO

Stress Awareness Day with #askNL

#AskNL- Mental Health Awareness

You might think you aren't hurting enough. That people are worse off than you, have fought themselves more, or have been through more. They’ve self-injured, slept, drunk, starved, tried to die. You might think your story isn’t significant enough when you compare it to those. Maybe, your brain suggests, you are just seeking attention.

— Shelley Queen, “You are a being, not a burden”

It was mental health awareness week a few weeks ago, which means becoming aware (if you're not already!) that 1 in 4 people are living with a mental health condition. These include but are not limited to:

- Anxiety
- Depression
- Bipolar
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Dissociative disorders
- Hypomania
- Mania
- OCD
- Panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Postnatal depression
- PTSD,
- Schizophrenia
- Self harm
- Suicidal feelings.

So it's not just the well known anxiety and depression. It's not feeling sad a lot or being worried about a few tests, either. For a lot of people, fighting a mental health issue is the hardest issue they will ever face, because it's a constant battle nobody can see you're fighting, and one to which there is a still a lot of stigma attached.

A lot of people think mental health is limited to the people you see in films and on TV, muttering to themselves or hearing voices or classically protrayed as 'insane'. The fact is, the majority of mental health sufferers will not be that obviously ill. It can be really hard to spot someone struggling unless you know them well, and even then it might not be obvious. There are loads of signs and symptoms, and they often overlap with other conditions- recent weight loss might be due to the flu, being down more often may just be stress, losing interest in things might just be the fact that everybody grows out of things. Even for the sufferer, it can be less obvious.

I really like this graphic from the mental health foundation of New Zealand. I think it's useful for both sufferers and supporters, and it's at the top of this blog.

If you're supporting someone, whether they have a mental health condition or not, connecting is massively important. Letting them know you're there, that you're willing to go through everything with them, is invaluable. If your best friend tells you she'd be with you every step of the way, no matter how long it took, and even after as well- and although you didn't trust yourself that you would get better, you'd trust her.

Giving is so important. It's all very well saying you'll be there, but you have to follow it up, whether it's with emails or texts or coffee or cuddles. Sometimes just being there is enough. Sometimes you'll need to be a sounding board for thoughts and ideas that seem irrational, but are more realistic to the person you're supporting than you'll ever know.

Take notice- both of the person you're supporting, and yourself. If you're finding it difficult, ask for help- you're never ever expected to deal with your own or someone else's mental health issues on your own. There are confidential helplines such as Nightline and Mind that can help out with specific mental health topics,direct you to more information on how to be supportive, and support you. Try and remember what makes you happy, what makes the people around you happy, and share that. Keep taking medication, note any side effects, and don't be afraid to try/ suggest counselling, other medication, mindfullness and other techniques if the current ones aren't working.

Keep learning- everyone experiences mental health differently. Sometimes the times you are busiest and most productive are when your mental health is worst, which is not traditional- so that might be something new for you to learn and pick up on.  Your mental health will change over time and it's not something that gets better overnight, so there is a long process that requires constant learning to cope and deal with new emotions.

Be active-  It's about being active with your own and others mental health- encouraging you and your friends to be self-aware, to share their problems, to seek help if needed. It's about being active about the fact that mental health is never, ever something to be ashamed of, something that makes us all human, that is not something deserving of being hushed away.

Remember:

- Mental health is different for everyone.
- A supportive friend can be all you need.
- You may however also need medication or counselling or other techniques.
- Talk. To your friends, to your family, to your GP.

'Friend- I want to be the mirror that reminds you to love yourself. I want to be the air in your lungs that reminds you to breathe easy. When the walls come down, when the thunder rumbles, when nobody else is home, hold my hand. And I promise- I won't let go.'

- Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye, An Origin Story