Chelmsford For You is proud to be supporting Time To Talk Day 2026, taking place on Thursday 5 February, by partnering with local charity Renew Counselling & Training and new café The Social to host Chelmsford’s very first Time To Talk Coffee Morning.
Time To Talk Day is a nationwide initiative dedicated to encouraging open conversations about mental health. It brings people together across communities, workplaces and organisations to start meaningful discussions, promote understanding, and inspire positive change.
Having open and honest conversations about mental health can be a powerful first step towards improving wellbeing. Talking helps break down stigma, builds confidence, and reassures people that they are not alone. By creating a culture where mental health is spoken about openly, more people feel able to reach out for support when they need it.
To mark this year’s Time To Talk Day, Chelmsford For You is inviting the local community to join them for a FREE, relaxed coffee morning at The Social, where the coffee is on us. The event will take place on Thursday 5 February, between 9am and 12pm (no booking required), offering a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental space for people to meet, chat and connect.
Members of the Renew Counselling & Training team, including trained counsellors, will be on hand to listen and talk, as well as share information about the services available to support mental health and wellbeing, should attendees wish to find out more.
In addition, representatives from The Glamour Room (located on Can Bridge Way) will also be attending, offering complimentary hand massages to encourage a moment of relaxation and “you time”.
Plus, Chelmsford based artist curiousgb shares his experience growing up in the closet, its impact on his mental health, and his journey to self-acceptance. For Time to Talk Day, he confronts the elephant in the room with a playful diorama.
Sara Tupper, Chief Executive of Chelmsford For You, said:
“Chelmsford is such a fantastic community when it comes to coming together and supporting one another. We’re proud to be recognising this year’s Time To Talk Day, promoting the importance of conversation and reminding people that in Chelmsford, you are not alone.”
Nikki Schuster, Chief Executive of Renew Counselling & Training, said:
“We’re so grateful to Chelmsford For You and the local businesses involved in Time to Talk Day
for supporting Renew. It’s always a privilege to have meaningful conversations, raise awareness
of the support available and build relationships that help keep our vital work going. It’s only
through the support of our community that we can continue to help people across Chelmsford,
regardless of age, background or financial circumstances”
A little more about Renew Counselling & Training
Renew Counselling & Training is a BACP-accredited mental health charity based in Essex, with
over 120 years of experience. The charity provides affordable and accessible counselling for
children, young people and adults, alongside professional counselling training. Renew’s
mission is to make high-quality mental health support available to anyone who needs it,
regardless of background or financial circumstances.
We want to inform our subscribers and supporters that the Essex Alliance newsletter will be temporarily paused while we work to resolve an issue with our domain, essexalliance.org.uk.
Our team are actively working to resolve this issue and expect to resume regular newsletter updates as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience and continued support during this time.
In the meantime, please continue to check our website and social media pages for updates and announcements, and we will notify subscribers immediately once the newsletter is back in circulation.
The consultation closes on 3 February 2026, so please take a few minutes today to make your voice heard.
Why Your Voice Matters
This strategy will shape how we work together across Essex to tackle health inequalities and improve outcomes for residents. Your insights are essential to ensure the strategy reflects the real needs and priorities of our communities.
What We’re Asking You
We want your views on the four key areas of the strategy, which will guide the Health and Wellbeing Board’s focus over the next three years, along with the priorities within each. Your feedback will help us confirm whether these are the right areas or highlight other pressing challenges we may have overlooked.
What’s in the Strategy
Our vision: All residents are enabled to achieve good health, in safe and thriving communities, with access to support when they need it.
To achieve this, the strategy focuses on four key areas:
Improving life chances for children and young people
Helping more people into and stay in work
Building healthy, resilient, and connected communities
Creating opportunities to improve health and reduce the impact of poor health
There are three emerging priorities against each of these, including improving mental health, reducing poverty, helping more people into work, creating healthy places, and promoting healthy lifestyles.
CARA is recruiting an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) to join their team. ISVAs provide vital emotional and practical support, as well as impartial information, to victims and survivors of sexual violence. This includes individuals who have reported to the police and those who are considering reporting.
The role of an ISVA includes:
Ensuring the voices of victims and survivors are heard
Supporting individuals to make choices that feel right for them
Accompanying clients to key appointments and court proceedings
Providing ongoing support after the legal process concludes, regardless of the outcome
For victims and survivors who are considering reporting to the police, ISVAs also:
Provide impartial information to support informed decision-making
Offer an overview of police processes and what to expect
Support individuals with their next steps
CARA provides an ISVA service to adults, young people and children who have experienced sexual violence across mid and North Essex, including Uttlesford.
Further information
To view the job description and person specification, please click here
Healthwatch Essex is delighted to be starting 2026 with an exciting opportunity to join their award-winning Carers Voices team.
They are currently recruiting a Carers Voices Officer to join the Information and Guidance Team.
This role is ideal for someone who is passionate about ensuring unpaid carers are heard and supported. The successful candidate will play a key role in reaching out to carers, engaging with them, and listening to their experiences to help shape and improve services.
You can find full details about the role and how to apply below:
Please help us spread the word by sharing this opportunity with your networks and including it in any relevant circulars. The webpage can be accessed here: 👉 https://healthwatchessex.org.uk/get-involved
Essex County Council & Connect Futures is promoting a series of free online workshops designed to help people feel safer, more confident, and better informed when navigating online information.
We’re asking partners to help spread the word through newsletters, networks and community channels – and please do encourage onward sharing.
👨👩👧 Workshops for Parents
Misinformation, Community and Online Safety
These sessions support parents to better understand:
What misinformation and disinformation are, and where they’re most commonly encountered
How to recognise symbols of hate and misleading online narratives
What is legal and illegal online in relation to hate and harmful content
Practical ways to talk to children about what they’re seeing online
The workshops are welcoming, interactive and delivered by trained facilitators, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. 📅 Multiple dates available | ⏱ 90 minutes | 💻 Online | Free to attend
Spot common tricks used in misleading posts, viral rumours and emotionally charged content
Understand how images, headlines and algorithms influence reactions
Recognise how scams, fraud and misinformation often overlap
Use simple tools to check whether information is trustworthy before sharing
No technical skills are needed – just curiosity. Sessions are friendly, jargon-free and focused on staying safe online. 📅 Multiple dates available | ⏱ 90 minutes | 💻 Online | Free to attend
There will also be train-the-trainer sessions (one for each workshop). If you know practitioners or community leaders who may be interested, please get in touch to receive full details. They are also very welcome to attend a standard session first to see how it’s delivered.
Essex Family Forum has launched its 2025 Family Impact Surveyand is inviting SEND parents and carers across Essex to take part. The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and covers key areas including Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), mental health, social care, therapies and diagnosis.
Feedback from families is vital in helping shape and influence positive changes to SEND services in Essex. SEND parents and carers are encouraged to complete the survey, and professionals are asked to share the link across their networks to reach as many families as possible.
Mind in West Essex has moved to a new base in Harlow. After more than 14 years at the Bush Fair hub, all Harlow services and staff are now based at the new site, Mind Sanctuary (the former Osler House GP surgery), located at Prentice Place, Potter Street, Harlow, CM17 9BG.
The move marks an exciting new chapter for the charity, providing a refreshed and welcoming space for their services, staff, and the local community. While the offices remain closed to the public over the Christmas and New Year period, the crisis alternatives continue to operate as usual during the evenings to ensure ongoing support.
Later in 2026, they will be celebrating the new Harlow home with a community open day for local residents and businesses, followed by a formal opening event.
To stay up to date with these plans and other news from Mind in West Essex,
Key dates for the move to the new site and our Christmas opening hours:
Christmas Eve (Wednesday): At 1pm, we close our doors at Bush Fair for the last time.
Christmas Day (Thursday) to Sunday, December 28: Our offices are closed to the public (however our crisis alternatives will remain open every evening as usual).
From Monday, December 29: All Harlow services and staff based at Mind Sanctuary.
Thursday, January 1: Offices closed for New Years Day bank holiday (except crisis alternatives).
From Monday, January 5: We welcome back our community activity groups, based at Mind Sanctuary for the first time.
