Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will host a volunteer recruitment day for Surrey and Hampshire residents affected by mental health issues Monday (February 25).

The Trust works with 40,000 people from Surrey and North East Hampshire per year and is inviting people with lived experience of mental ill-health, including friends and family of people who have a mental illness to consider associated volunteering roles in the NHS.

It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem in England according to research conducted by the Mental Health Foundation, while severe mental health issues every week in England rose from 8.5 percent in 2007 to 9.3 per cent in 2014 according to NHS Digital, Mental Health and Wellbeing in England data.

Lara, age 50, has volunteered with the Trust as a Recovery College course facilitator, and is also a trainee counsellor.

She said: "I love what I do and although not fully qualified as a counsellor I know I am going to continue to love it. It is an honour to be able to sit with people in their struggle.

"I feel blessed to be able to pass on my experiences and what I have learnt. To feel passionately about what you are doing and help others in the process is a great mood booster."

Recent YouGov research from the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) finds that volunteering benefits mental wellbeing and reduces loneliness.

Nikki Green, the Trust’s People Participation and Involvement Lead said that responses from those living with mental health issues consistently proved how important the support they receive from volunteers can be.

Ms Green said: "People tell us they really benefit from peer support so we’re particularly interested in hearing from people who have had a mental illness themselves or cared for someone with mental ill-health.

"Speaking to someone who is in recovery or living well with their condition can inspire hope – and give the volunteer’s own mental wellbeing a boost at the same time.

"You can give as little as just a couple of hours a week and we have a raft of opportunities available: from helping out at a carers support group to spending time with people on our wards or joining a befriending scheme."

Anyone interested can come along to the Trust's Volunteers Recruitment Day on Monday 25 February between 10.30am and 3.00pm at its Leatherhead Headquarters.