Having gained over ten years experience at addiction charity Aquarius as Area Manager, Ben is already a prominent figure in the local mental health and wellbeing sector. He’s worked tirelessly to partner with companies in the West Midlands and beyond to improve the health, social care and wellbeing of local people and has been one of the driving forces that has seen Living Well UK assist over 9000 people this year alone. Joining as a partner in 2018, Ben is now taking over the leadership from Graham Beaumont.

Speaking about his new role, Ben comments: “I feel gratified to be appointed the new CEO of Living Well UK and I look forward to continuing the fantastic work that we have already achieved. The services that we offer have had an enormously positive effect on the Midlands’ mental health sector, and we are only able to achieve this thanks to the shared vision and determination of our partner organisations.”

“This is a pivotal moment for the team: mental health services have suffered some of the most difficult times over the past 12 months, with the longest NHS waiting times on record and cuts to funding, so our efforts as a consortium have never been so important. Whilst the climate is challenging for those who work in the sector, I am tremendously humbled by what we have achieved this year, and I know that myself and the new trustees on board will give it our utmost attention to ensure that we continue to do Living Well UK proud in 2020.”

Alongside Ben, new trustees Aftab Rahman and Lovemore Masiane are also making their positive impact as part of the Living Well UK team. Contributing their combined 15 years’ experience from their roles at Legacy West Midlands and Our Roots CIC respectively, both will play a vital part in informing Living Well UK’s mission in 2020.

Looking ahead to the next 12 months, the organisation aims to continue working with its community model of prevention, wellness, recovery and resilience. In line with this, it will be launching a pop-up wellness space and a supporting information point in two prominent Birmingham locations early next year and will be launching a grant-giving scheme that will see it offer over £50,000 to programmes aiding mental health and wellbeing.

What’s more, it has high ambitions of introducing new training programmes, member offers and support, as well as an expansion of additional services for long term conditions.

“2020 holds great potential for Living Well UK, with many impactful, exciting, and important plans in the pipeline. The consortium is a testament to what can be achieved when organisations pool their resources and work together, and the support we have received so far has allowed us to carry out life-saving work for so many people across the region. We are keen to continue this vital work in the new year and beyond and are excited to see what else we can accomplish together,” concluded Ben.