Famous Sheffielders have lent their support to a new mental health campaign launching in the city today.

Here to Help Sheffield is a campaign launched by Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, to raise awareness of the range of mental health support available in the city.

As part of the launch, famous Sheffielders have each filmed themselves reading a line from a poem written to the people of Sheffield.

Lines in the poem have been recorded by:

• Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp and Chris Wilder
• Sheffield Wednesday’s Cameron Dawson
• Sheffield artist Pete McKee
• Toby Foster, Paulette Edwards, Kat Harbourne and Jenny Eells from BBC Radio Sheffield
• Big John from Hallam FM
• David Hirst from ITV Calendar
• Broadcaster Charlie Webster
• Former Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid
• Big Shaun from the Everly Pregnant Brothers
• Sheffield YouTuber Morgz
• World Squash Champion Nick Matthew

The poem encourages anyone who has been struggling with their mental health to ask for help as the city eases out of lockdown. According to research from the University of Sheffield, following the announcement of lockdown in March there was a 20% rise in depression and anxiety in adults.

The campaign highlights the variety of free mental health support available in Sheffield, ranging from self-help guides, audiobooks and apps, to courses that offer practical support with anxiety, stress and depression. There is also information on what to do in a mental health crisis.

Abhi Shetty, Consultant Psychiatrist at Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It’s so important that Sheffielders know that if they are struggling, we are here to help. We know how difficult it has been recently, our lives have changed more than we could have imagined. The worst thing you can do is bottle up how you are feeling. We want to let you know that no matter how you’re feeling, there’s support available for you. You can get it in a way that suits you, that might be a self-help guide, attending a course online or speaking to a professional on the phone. We’d like to say a huge thank you to the big names who have contributed to the video. By supporting the campaign they have helped us reach out to people who may not even know about the support that is available.”

To find out more about the range of free NHS mental health support available in Sheffield go to www.shsc.nhs.uk/heretohelp