On Wednesday 27th March a Lunch for Jami was held at JW3 in Hampstead. The Ladies Lunch, attended by 110 guests, raised over £65,000 for the mental health charity.
The Lunch was hosted by Daniela Pears, Susan Kahn, Sarah Kaye, Aly Mosheim and Susie Olins, who saw a need to raise awareness of mental health amongst their peers and created the annual event four years ago. Daniela said, “It was an absolute pleasure for me to host this Ladies Lunch for Jami once again. This year we’ve been raising funds for a vital new intervention to support our Jewish students on Campus who may be suffering with feelings of depression, anxiety or isolation, as well as normalising the conversation about mental health across the community.”
The guest speaker was Jonny Benjamin MBE, author of ‘The Stranger on the Bridge’. Jonny has lived with mental illness since childhood and now speaks publicly in an aim to help educate and break the stigma around mental health. He told the audience, “I think university is a key time for mental health issues coming to the fore. There are so many students suffering with their mental health and they don’t know where to go for support.”. He is delighted that Jami, in partnership with UJS and University Jewish Chaplaincy, are launching a pilot programme for students on Campus.
Jonny also talked about his own recovery and how crucial services – like those provided by Jami – are for enabling people to live a meaningful life, despite mental ill health.
“78% of all students are struggling with their mental health” (NUS)
