Mental Health Awareness Week – Take Ten To Talk

This year for Mental Health Awareness Week (Monday 15th May to Sunday 21st May) we wanted to do something truly special that will not only improve our mental health, it will also remember a long-serving member of the Farrans’ family who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Richard McCallen worked with Farrans for 34 years and, although a quiet mannered man, his positive impact was felt widely within our business, particularly through the support he provided to his colleagues, our graduates and apprentices.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Richard realised that the lockdowns and isolation could be difficult for his friends and colleagues.

He wrote a mantra on a post-it note which was stuck to his computer – Take Ten To Talk.

Every day during lockdown and in the months after, Richard would make a point of taking ten minutes out of his day to reach out to someone – a family member, a friend or a colleague – and ask them how they were feeling.

On Friday 19th May, we are asking everyone in Farrans to do the same. Take ten minutes out of your day. Reach out and connect with someone in your life. Take Ten To Talk.

To encourage others to do the same, write your own mental health mantra on a post-it note or simply write Take Ten To Talk, take a photograph, share it to social media with the hashtag #TakeTenToTalk.

Speaking about what this means to the family, Richard’s wife Nuala McCallen said:

“Richard was an advocate for mental health awareness and we are honoured to know that his legacy is being remembered in Farrans in this way. Richard’s career was an important part of his life, he enjoyed work and getting to know so many people across all generations. We found his Take Ten To Talk post-it exactly where he had left it on his computer. It means so much to us all that his mantra is continuing to have an impact.”

To find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk.