Mental Health Awareness Week

Community Build with Make it Glasgow - read about it in the Glasgow Times

This week it’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme this year is “Community”. As it says on the Mental Health Foundation website, who run this national campaign:

“Being part of a community can make life feel more meaningful and enjoyable, help us feel happier and safer, and improve our mental health. Yet sometimes, although we’re all part of communities, we don’t always realise the benefits for our mental health.” 

At Glasgow Tool Library, community development is at the core of our approach to improving mental health and wellbeing, through our community-led equipment library service, our community development work and most importantly in our volunteering programme. 

We want to take the opportunity of Mental Health Awareness Week to highlight the positive impact our volunteering opportunities have on the people who are involved. 

Community Build with Shakespear St Youth Club

Our volunteering programme is centred around three core teams: the Library Team, Maintenance Team and Marketing Team. Each team has a mix of people from different backgrounds and with different experience - students, professionals, people new to Glasgow, retirees, and people out of work for one reason or another. Our aim is to create a strong and diverse community that offers a range of opportunities, whether people are looking to improve their employability, meet new people and feel more connected to their local community, give something back to a cause they support, or want to improve their confidence and mental health.

In our annual Volunteer Feedback and Evaluation Survey, we found that:

• 82% of people’s mental health and wellbeing had increased or increased greatly 

• 74% of people’s personal development had increased or increased greatly  

• 95% of people's skills had increased or increased greatly. 

 There was also a clear social benefit: 

• 86% of people felt social connections with people outside their social circle had increased or increased greatly

• 86% felt their sense of community and belonging had increased 

• 91% felt their participation and engagement in local activities had increased or increased greatly 

• 68% had access to new social and support networks

Ali - One of our Maintenance Team Volunteers

Below are a few comments from the survey that highlight some of the benefits: 

“Glasgow Tool Library is a fantastic place to volunteer. If I sounded critical in places it's because I love it so much, that I really think any challenges can be fixed and are worth fixing. There aren't many places that you can still feel part of something bigger, or that you can trust you can be totally yourself in because so much is online and comments sections make you feel down on the world. But everyone is so friendly and it gives you hope that there are still good places out there”

“I think the organisation is remarkably inclusive, and already demonstrates impressive efforts to accommodate the needs of its diverse community (pronouns, dietary choices, professional commitments etc.) in a way that is authentic rather than performative. Really respect your efforts on this front - not sure how I'd improve on it!”

“It has made me feel more part of the community, and made me think about creative ways to help the environment”

“Helped me build self-confidence, helping me build routine and skills that are essential to breaking back into work, learning a lot about various tools, and being part of a welcoming and supportive community”

“I feel much more involved with my local community, it has made me aware of many groups and initiatives ongoing around north Glasgow that I may never have discovered previously. It has also allowed me to extend my social group outside of the people I would normally meet through work, which has made life a lot more varied and fun.”

“its social and dynamic environment, and allows you to feel like you are part of a family.”

“Accessing a diverse pool of people who have expanded both my worldview and my fairly restricted relationship with Glasgow. I always return from volunteering sessions with new reading recommendations, signposts to other local organisations, and a richer understanding of new neighbourhoods or elements of the city's history.”

“Just thank you for allowing me to be part of your team, for boosting my confidence and thanks to that I am working.”

Without volunteers Glasgow Tool Library wouldn’t be possible, however, seeing people join our community and develop their skills, confidence and friendships is the most rewarding part of what we do. We don’t always get it right, but we want to continue to break down barriers and widen opportunities so that we continue to grow our grow our horizons and community.

Thanks very much to our funders who enable this to happen: Glasgow’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, The Robertson Trust and The National Lottery. 

If you want to support our volunteer programme, and our work to support mental health and wellbeing through community development please consider donating! 

Over the next few weeks, and in the lead up to Volunteer Week  we will be sharing some stories of volunteers, what they do in the library, and the benefits it has had for them, so stay tuned!