Sir Lindsay Hoyle, The Speaker of the House of Commons, has added his backing to Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust’s (LSCft) partnership campaign to beat loneliness and help those struggling with their mental health and wellbeing over the winter lockdown.

The Chorley MP, plus Preston North End and veterans organisations, are now supporting the #BeAWinterFriend campaign.

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#BeAWinterfriend encourages everyone to continue to look out for their families, friends and neighbours virtually during the pandemic.

The initiative was the brainchild of Kevin O’Hara from the LSCft Partnership and Development Team.

Building on his experience of working on previous loneliness initiatives, Kevin knew that lockdown could cause isolation, loneliness, and then place more pressure on NHS services.

Read more: Mental Health Family Hour relaunched to benefit young people struggling due to Covid-19 restrictions

Kevin said: “We are delighted to now have the Speaker of the House of Commons and other great organisations on board with our campaign. The initiative is about promoting self-care, people safely supporting each other and showcasing what all our fantastic organisations across Lancashire and South Cumbria are doing.

“Even during these severe lockdown restrictions, people and organisations are preventing loneliness by keeping people connected in so many safe and socially distant ways.

“By being a Winter Friend everyone can help support NHS frontline services and I’m delighted we continue to have some really high-profile figures and organisations supporting our campaign.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was ‘absolutely blown away’ by the #BeaWinterFriend initiative and encouraged people to get involved.

Preston North End have been supporting their fans and the local community during lockdown, including befriending phone calls, online social groups and socially distanced ‘doorstep’ conversations.

Read more: Preston North End win Community Club of the Season Award

More tips and advice will be shared using the hashtag #BeAWinterFriend.

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Have you participated in the #BeAWinterFriend campaign? Let us know in the comments below.