SALT Festival returns to Victoria Park to tackle mental health stigma
The festival is in its fourth year
A festival encouraging people to speak about their mental health will take place in Victoria Park on Saturday September 5.
Suicide Awareness Let’s Talk Festival (also known as SALT Festival) was set up by Sarah Mitas in memory of her father Richard Dobson who took his own life when she was a child.
“I just wanted his name to mean something. Suicide and mental health was all a bit of a taboo subject, it was 39 years ago, so I wanted it to be out there that people could talk about this and move the stigma a bit,” said Sarah.
“We will have lots of stalls at the festival, from things like domestic abuse to Solent Mind, lots of different types of things that can help. And they’ve all got activities in their stalls,” she said.
The festival will be family friendly, with a creative zone run by Seekers Create, as well as badge making and bubbles. There will also be live music with performances from local artists, as well as a smaller stage with breathing exercises and other mindfulness activities.
The festival also will have a speaker’s tent, featuring talks about ways of combating stress and personal stories about mental health.
“We will also have a memorial tent, which is incredibly important, especially to people that are grieving someone lost to suicide, where people can put pictures and quotes,” said Sarah.
“The lovely thing about Victoria Park is that where the festival is being held there are no barriers, no threshold, so people can come and watch if they want to, or just take a brochure with a directory of numbers for services in it.”
“It’s really important for people to come and see what services are available and understand a little bit more. We had loads of people last year who came in search of answers for their family or friends too,” she said.
You can find more information about the event here.