Dartford MP pays visit to North Kent Mind

On Friday 29 th April, Dartford’s Member of Parliament, Gareth Johnson and his assistant Ursula Hudson, visited North Kent Mind’s office based at The Almshouses in Dartford. North Kent Mind’s CEO Justin Bateman, along with Deputy CEO Richard Giles, were there to greet Gareth and Ursula, along with many other North Kent Mind managers and staff. The aim of the meeting was to reconnect after not being able to do so due to COVID 19. A variety of topics were discussed around the mental health system and how we provide support as charity. Gareth and Ursula enjoyed some North Kent Mind resources, and took home a branded t-shirt and pen after the visit. The MP had the following to say about North Kent Mind “It’s a valuable local asset, which I know the people are Dartford really appreciate”. He continued “There’s an awful lot of good work that’s done here, by both staff and volunteers”. He finished with the following statement “I want to enhance the partnership working that we’re doing with Mind, and that’s part of the reason why I came here, to build on the relationship we already have”. North Kent Mind CEO Justin Bateman had the following to say “It was good to have the MP for Dartford interested enough in our work to give us a visit. We discussed a number of issues, including what training or signposting support MPs might need when dealing with people with mental health issues when they hold their surgeries. I intend to explore this further with the Mind network”