Paycare and Kaleidoscope Plus Group working together to help support mental health

A collaboration between two health and wellbeing organisations will see Paycare partner with Kaleidoscope Plus Group (KPG) to deliver accredited mental health training courses.
The organisations have always recognised their shared aims, having worked together before, with the not-for-profit Health Cash Plan provider Paycare hosting KPG’s Mental Health courses at its Wolverhampton headquarters Paycare House earlier in 2022.
Following the positive impact of these sessions, they’ve decided to expand that partnership – Paycare will be partnering with KPG to deliver Mental Health First Aid England accredited courses to organisations, managers, and individuals in the region.
KPG are a charity set up in the 1970s in Sandwell to champion mental health and wellbeing. They provide a range of support services including residential services, crisis support, suicide prevention services, community support and activity groups aimed at promoting inclusion, support, recovery and self-care.
The KPG team are experienced at delivering MHFA England accredited courses, which include a half-day (Mental Health Aware), day (Mental Health Champion) or two-day (Mental Health First Aider) course and MHFA refresher training too. KPG’s experts also lead training around additional specialist topics such as suicide prevention and stress management training.
Paycare’s Commercial Director Anthony Burns explained: “Every day, we have conversations with leaders, HR managers and business owners about their concerns surrounding employee mental health and wellbeing.
“It’s really important to cultivate an atmosphere within workplaces where individuals feel able to talk about their mental health, and it’s just as crucial to have team members who are knowledgeable and able to respond in these scenarios – and to start conversations of their own where they see that a colleague may be struggling.
“While there’s a real concern around the long-term increase in mental ill health as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic – with almost 40% of staff saying their wellbeing has decreased, it’s heartening that employers are looking to do all they can to mitigate this, and to look after their teams.
“It’s fantastic to be working with KPG who not only deliver MHFA England accredited training – part of a global programme which has trained 4 million people across the world – but also specialise in other areas of wellbeing training such as stress management, all extremely useful to employees and employers alike.”
KPG Chief Executive Monica Shafaq added: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Paycare, whose values, ethos and mission are aligned to our own. Everyone has mental health in the same way, we all have physical health so it’s important to know how to keep ourselves well emotionally, but also to be more resilient to everyday challenges that life can throw at us.
“Paycare appreciate how critically important mental health is, especially in the workplace and it’s great to see that this partnership will help businesses and managers looking to support their teams.”
Paycare and KPG will soon be sharing the dates of upcoming training and any businesses, managers and individuals. These dates will be available on Paycare’s website (www.paycare.org) and social media soon.