Caroline signs Rethink petition in Vauxhall

Mental health charity, Rethink, invited Vauxhall residents and fellow SE1 workers into its offices to partake in tea time treats on Wednesday 14th April.

Tea and cake is a soothing British tradition and scores top marks for boosting your mental wellbeing. The charity’s workers donated homemade and bought cakes for a cake sale to raise funds and took the opportunity to chat about Rethink’s general election petition to tempted punters.

At the event Rethink collected an extra 134 signatures to a petition which urges the next government to “care about mental health” bringing the total, so far, to more than 6,500.

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall, attended the cake sale and signed the petition.

Caroline Pidgeon said: “I am really pleased to have offered my support for the Rethink Election campaign today, and take the candidate pledge. Mental illness affects so many people across the country, yet it is rarely given the same support as physical conditions like heart disease or cancer. Candidates from all parties need to challenge the stigma attached to mental health and speak up for frontline services as I will continue to do.”

Michelle Smith, Vauxhall resident, said: ‘It’s great that Caroline was able to come along to the Rethink offices and support our pledge for candidates. As a member of the campaigns team at Rethink I’m well aware of the struggles people with mental illness face in their daily lives – whether that’s accessing decent treatment or challenging discrimination. As a Vauxhall constituent myself, it’s even more important for me that our local candidates show they care about the issues affecting the most vulnerable in our society. As well as Caroline, we had a whole host of visitors signing our national petition and buying cakes which was a great result!’

To sign the Rethink general election petition go to: www.rethink.org/petition

Photo: Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall, and Michelle Smith, Vauxhall resident