Libraries support this year’s Health and Wellbeing Week

Cheshire West and Chester Libraries will once again be offering a wide range of free activities to help improve your mental and physical wellbeing during their Health and Wellbeing Week 2022 from Monday 24th to Sunday 30th January 2022.

This year activities will be in their libraries and online through their Facebook page.

The Library Service is teaming up with a range of partners to provide something for everyone including Borrowbox – your library in one app, Brio Leisure, Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, Cheshire West Communities Together, Fairtrade, Healthwatch, Mersey Forest, the Road Safety Team, Starting Well and Wellbeing Co-ordinators.

Healthwatch will be on hand to hear your views, needs and experiences of health and social care in the area, and Starting Well will offer support to improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families. 

Online highlights include:

• How can I develop resilience?
• Drive safely for longer workshop
• Flavours from History, a Facebook live event with Cheshire Archives and Local Studies

Tickets to bookable events are free and available at:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cwaclibraries

Please note Zoom or Microsoft Teams will be required to access online events and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store.

Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Councillor Louise Gittins said: “We really do have something for everyone this Health and Wellbeing Week.  There will be adult crafts, scrabble clubs, adult colouring, Knit and Natter sessions, family history support, reading groups plus rhymetimes and storytimes, as well as a Volunteer Open Afternoon at Hoole Library in the Community Centre.

“Activities are free so why not try something new either at your local library or on-line.  January can be dark and miserable, get involved in something that will lift your mood and boost your wellbeing.”

Contact your local library to find out about all the fantastic wellbeing events.

Cheshire West and Chester Libraries also offer an extensive range of resources to help raise awareness about mental health whilst also providing access to information that will enable people to lead happier and healthier lives. 

On the Council’s website you will find sources of information and advice from a whole host of health organisations, and support for children, young people and adults.  The Mental Health Foundation has put together advice and support to help manage wellbeing and mental health during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Councillor Gittins added: “If you know someone who loves reading but can’t get to the library tell them to contact us and ask about our Home Library Service. We work in conjunction with volunteers to deliver books, large print books and talking books to anyone who can’t visit the library.”

All customers can access library services online and it is now possible to join online and use the digital resources straightaway, gaining free access to thousands of eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, eNewspapers and eResources.

To sign up and get a library card number, just fill in the online form on the Council’s website:

www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/libraries

Then email:

libraries@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk 

...confirming your full name, date of birth and postcode).

If you have a library card but are not sure of your PIN/password or need to renew your library card then email:

libraries@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

Further events and activities will be added throughout January so please follow:

Facebook @cwaclibrary#

Twitter @cwaclibraries

Instagram @cwaclibraries to keep up to date.

Mental health and wellbeing resources available:

The Reading Well ‘Books on Prescription’ Schemes help people manage their health and wellbeing using self-help reading. The scheme is endorsed by health professionals and all titles are available free from Cheshire West and Chester Libraries. Many titles are also available as eBooks through the Borrowbox app.

These books help people manage their wellbeing, using self-help reading. It consists of a collection of recommended self-help books for common mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias and some eating disorders.

Reading Well Books on Prescription for Dementia includes a range of books offering information and advice about dementia and normal ageing, support with living well after diagnosis, practical advice for carers, personal accounts, and suggestions for shared therapeutic activities.

‘Shelf Help’ provides 13 to 18-year-olds with high-quality information, support and advice on a wide-range of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm, and difficult life pressures, like bullying and exams.

Reading Well for Children is a new booklist of expert endorsed reading to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. The list is targeted at children in Key Stage 2 but includes titles aimed at a wide range of reading levels to support less confident readers, and to encourage children to read together with their siblings and carers.