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The Mix and Mental Health Innovations come together to supercharge digital mental health support

TheMixTheMix Posts: 3,113 Boards Guru
edited August 19 in Community Announcements
Hey everyone,

We have some exciting news to share with you all.

We are pleased to announce that The Mix will be merging with Mental Health Innovations, the charity that oversees Shout, the 24/7 mental health text service.

What exactly is a merger?
A merger is when two charities come together to form as one charity.

It has always been our ambition to expand the reach of mental health support we can give to young people across the UK via our digital products and services. This exciting new partnership gives us the opportunity to build on the millions of young people we support each year, no matter what they’re going through.

What does this mean for The Mix's services?
The Mix and Shout continue to be the UK’s leading digital support services and, together, we’ll provide a new ecosystem of free, 24/7 mental health support reaching millions more young people struggling with their wellbeing.

Our focus will be on early intervention as we continue to grow our online community and online resources and provide more volunteering opportunities for young people to help one another. Our existing counselling service and self-paced learning modules will be joined by the growth of an upcoming chatbot service and 1-2-1 peer support service.

With two of the leading organisations for young people now joining forces, the future has never looked brighter for the lives and wellbeing of each and every young person in the UK. With our combined expertise, knowledge and greater reach, we can continue to keep young people at the heart of everything we do and create an even more inclusive, compassionate and impactful service for anyone under the age of 25.

What does this mean for The Mix's support groups and discussion boards?
With our charities merging and more teams working together to focus on early intervention, you'll see some exciting improvements to our community spaces over the next little while. These improvements will focus on improving the quality of support from our services and accessibility which help more young people reach out for support as a form of early intervention.

When we look to make improvements, we'll open up opportunities to help us co-design our services and explore how we can improve them together. We'll be sure to keep you all updated and involved in our plans for the community :)

Where can I ask a question?
The Community Team and Chris, CEO of The Mix, are here to answer any questions you might have about the merger. Feel free to post your questions in this thread or use our anonymous form. We’ll be responding to the comments over the next few weeks.

If you’re feeling worried about this update or would like to leave feedback, please do also get in touch by commenting on this post, completing our feedback form, or sending us a DM.

You can also read our full press release over on our website for more information about this update.

- Aoife, Mike, Ella, & Gemma :star:

[Posted updated on 19/08/24 to add an answer to the question about The Mix's community services]
Post edited by TheMix on

Comments

  • Chloe234Chloe234 Community Champion Posts: 3,544 Community Veteran
    Is this gonna effect place like here on the boards and the evening chats on chatwee? Or is it gonna be the same you're just enhancing more support through the chatbot and 1-2-1 service?
    🦆💜🦆💜🦆
  • AoifeAoife Community Manager Posts: 3,228 Boards Guru
    Chloe234 wrote: »
    Is this gonna effect place like here on the boards and the evening chats on chatwee? Or is it gonna be the same you're just enhancing more support through the chatbot and 1-2-1 service?

    Great question @Chloe234 :)

    We're planning everything to be the same for our support groups and discussion boards. We'll continue running everything as usual. Our new service will be the 1-2-1 peer support service and also improvements to our chatbot and e-learning courses.

    You can read a bit more about our 1-2-1 peer support service over on our website here - https://www.themix.org.uk/news-and-research/news/what-is-peer-to-peer-the-mixs-new-service-launches-august-2024

    Any other questions, do let us know :)
    Maybe somethings don't get better, but we do. We get stronger. We learn to live with our situations as messy and ugly as they are. We fix what we can and we adapt to what we can't. Maybe some of us will never fully be okay, but at least we're here. We're still trying. We're doing the best we can. That's worth celebrating too ❤
  • DancerDancer Community Champion Posts: 8,103 Legendary Poster
    So is the community side staying the same but the helpline changing?
    "There's a part of me I can't get back. A little girl grew up too fast. All it took was once. I'll never be the same." ~ Demi Lovato
    "The way that I have found the light in my life is through the expressive arts because I know that I will be accepted for the way I am." ~ Me
    "I'm going to get strong again and see you soon. " ~ Anonymous 
  • AoifeAoife Community Manager Posts: 3,228 Boards Guru
    edited August 19
    Thank you for your question @Dancer :)

    For now our discussion boards and support groups will stay the same as we focus on transitioning our helpline service to a new 1-2-1 peer support service.

    To add a bit more to both your questions @Chloe234 and @Dancer, The Mix is moving into an early intervention space so we can help lots of young people as early as possible before they reach crisis. With our charities merging and more teams working together, you'll see some exciting improvements to our community spaces over the next little while. These improvements will focus on improving the quality of support from our services and accessibility which help more young people reach out for support as a form of early intervention.

    When we look to make improvements, we'll open up opportunities to help us co-design our services and explore how we can improve them together. We'll be sure to keep you all updated and involved in our plans for the community :)
    Maybe somethings don't get better, but we do. We get stronger. We learn to live with our situations as messy and ugly as they are. We fix what we can and we adapt to what we can't. Maybe some of us will never fully be okay, but at least we're here. We're still trying. We're doing the best we can. That's worth celebrating too ❤
  • RhysRhys Posts: 292 The Mix Regular
    edited September 19
    Exciting stuff, especially with a focus on early intervention, a process I went through back in 2012 ish (for the standard 3 years)

    I look forward to seeing what the future holds. Also congrats on the merger.
    I do have a smol question, will the familiar staff faces be staying ??
    “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”― Bernard M. Baruch
  • Laura_tigger82Laura_tigger82 Moderator Posts: 5,303 Part of The Furniture
    They should be @Rhys - just additional faces if anything (this applies to us as volunteers too!). No one can get rid of me here :p
    FAQ | How to report a post | How to report spam
    I'm a community moderator. I'm here to help guide discussions and make sure Community Guidelines are followed. I can't send DMs, but you can message @TheMix or email community@themix.org.uk with questions or concerns.
  • Rose113Rose113 Community Champion Posts: 2,435 Boards Champion
    @Laura_tigger82 glad ur sticking around :p we would of had to petitioned if not :lol:
    Want to hurt me… go ahead
    Wish to bully me…I’m used to it
    Want to talk crap about me…go on then
    Want to make me cry…feel free
  • RhysRhys Posts: 292 The Mix Regular
    They should be @Rhys - just additional faces if anything (this applies to us as volunteers too!). No one can get rid of me here :p

    Im glad, I may not visit often, and been many many years since i moderated here, but i do like checking in every so often :>
    “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”― Bernard M. Baruch
  • Laura_tigger82Laura_tigger82 Moderator Posts: 5,303 Part of The Furniture
    We appreciate you as a valuable community member too @Rhys!
    FAQ | How to report a post | How to report spam
    I'm a community moderator. I'm here to help guide discussions and make sure Community Guidelines are followed. I can't send DMs, but you can message @TheMix or email community@themix.org.uk with questions or concerns.
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