Mind Your Head: Vanessa Motion's Kirkcaldy mental health festival raises more than £3000

Vanessa Motion’s Mind Your Head festival took place over three days last week. The Kingdom FM and Society DJ’s event was aimed at raising awareness of the support services available in the region, including Andy’s Man Club and Wellbeing in Fife who were both present.

The event raised more than £3000, with some funds still to be counted, through money on the door, workshops and donations from members of the public during and after the event.

Vanessa said: “Thank you to all the businesses for sponsoring the event and donations. It was good to see people come out and support it – and it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves. It was pay as you please and there was no expectation on people to give anything, but when I was counting up the money I was seeing £10 notes, £20 notes and you’re thinking that’s really generous, particularly at the moment”.

Also making an appearance at the festival was Fife Provost Jim Leishman - who even had a spin on the decks -and he was more than happy to lend his support to the event.

Vanessa said: “It was lovely of Jim to come out and support it. It was so great of him to take time out of his weekend because I know he had so many other events to get to and he took the time to come to Mind Your Head so I’m really grateful to him for that”.

Speaking to Vanessa at the event, Provost Leishman said: “Mind Your Head is an amazing project because sometimes it’s hidden, the subject we’re here to support. Sometimes it’s hidden within the young person or the adult and sometimes it’s too late”.

Vanessa said she hopes to be able to continue to run events throughout the year, whether under the Mind Your Head banner or another.

She explained: “The original idea was to make Mind Your Head or something under that title or another title if it can’t be used and that being a pot of money that you rotate around mental health charities. In the meantime the idea is to do separate little events, for example Mind Your Head under 18s and I’ve been asked to do something in other parts of Fife as well.”

One of the main purposes of the project has been to collate a range of information and contacts for mental health services. Doing that has also meant Vanessa has a wealth of resources available to take Mind Your Head to the airwaves.

Vanessa said: “This was always a let's see how it goes, let's learn as we do it, let’s see what can be done. From that you build something bigger, with more promotion, with more time, with more potential investment.

“In the process of doing Mind Your Head, I’ve been creating the website and I’ve been doing interviews with other mental health charities and organisations and I’ve got loads of really good audio, so I’m thinking about doing a Mind Your Head podcast as well".