Crowdfunder launched to raise funds for national ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ Awareness Day’

A fundraising effort has been launched by Yorkshire based creative counselling start-up Watoto Play to raise awareness for their new campaign ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ with a nationally focused Awareness Day, which will launch on Saturday 6th November 2021. 

The campaign’s fundraiser hopes to raise over £5,000 to establish a groundbreaking online ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ programme. Their long term aim is to train 500 counsellors to deliver this to reach over 500,000 individuals. The intention is that the ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ programme will offer support strategies on how to listen more effectively and how to have passionate conversations without resorting to anger or violence. The programme will share ways to improve communication, how to process uncomfortable emotions, as well as tools for de-escalation, conflict resolution and coping with estranged relationships. It will be delivered through Watoto Play’s new online creative therapy platform, My CC Toolkit and it is hoped the campaign will lead to a reduced level of both emotional and physical abuse across the UK.

The campaign’s focus is to open the conversation about the impact of aggressive and angry communication on our relationships and physical and mental health. Shouting, as a form of verbal abuse, can often be a trigger for more violent crimes. A recent study by London School of Economics found that in the UK, the level of violent crimes committed decreased during the first national lockdown, but that the levels increased significantly - by around 30%, when the restrictions were lifted. It is feared that as we exit the current restrictions, these crimes will rise again.

Founder of Watoto Play and leading the campaign for ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’, Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar said ‘This campaign is incredibly important especially as we start to come to terms with the mental health costs of the pandemic and lockdown. We want to raise awareness - without shame or blame around the impact shouting has on our relationships but also our physical health and wellbeing. Our ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ campaign is about embracing our similarities and differences and increasing awareness of the human in us. It will offer tools and strategies to help take the heat out of tense, frustrating situations and support those wanting to build stronger, healthier, calmer relationships with family, friends, or in the workplace.

The initiative is being backed by The Creative Counsellors Community, with Events, Retreats & Training Lead, Gaynor Rimmer adding ‘We are delighted to support and raise awareness for the ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ campaign. We see this being beneficial not just for the counselling community, but importantly, it will enable this mental health topic to be raised nationally’.

The ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ Crowdfunder offers varying rewards, including a ‘Let’s Stop Shouting’ reusable cotton grocery bag, a teacher’s workshop pack, online therapeutic programmes for businesses and 1 year’s therapist membership to My CC Toolkit amongst others.

You can follow the campaign on social media by using the hashtags #itstartswithashout21 #letstopshouting21 #mentalhealthmatters or to donate and share the Crowdfunder, follow the link below.

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/letstopshouting

Crowdfunder are supporting mental health charities and fundraising efforts across the UK with their own campaign and hashtag #mentalhealthmatters.