A charity in Birmingham is offering an alternative to Blue Monday.
The third Monday in January is claimed to be the most depressing day of the year but the Samaritans have renamed it ‘Brew Monday’.
Sara Hicken, Director of Birmingham Samaritans:
“The idea behind Brew Monday was that we wanted to turn this day into a positive.
“So let’s take some time to have a cup of tea with a friend, work colleague, stranger or a neighbour and take five or ten minutes out to chat.”
The Birmingham branch of the charity have been in Birmingham New Street Station since 6am and will be there all day until 6pm this evening offering commuters a brew and a chat.
The .@samaritans are turning #BlueMonday into #BrewMonday. Donβt let it stew, why not come together with someone today, chat away and share a brew!
The team are setup and ready to meet you, so why not come and pop along today in the station atrium to find out more ^SK pic.twitter.com/RP3h5jti24
— Birmingham New Street (@NetworkRailBHM) January 15, 2018
“I think this is really going to appeal to people.
“We’ve even managed to get some very stern commuters, who we thought were powering through to the office, to stop and spend five minutes with us.”
Sara said it was important to remember that the Samaritans are always there if someone needs to talk:
“We don’t know when someone is going to need to talk to us or be in crisis, so we make ourselves available for when they need it.”
People on Twitter have been getting into the spirit of #BrewMonday:
#BrewMonday Taking 10 minutes break & raising money for the @samaritans as a thank you for all the great work they do for us all! @CombinedNHS @CombinedIPC @CombinedDeaf @CombinedNHSJobs π°ππβοΈ pic.twitter.com/OqDNAfvXzX
— Lesley Whittaker (@LesleyP222) January 15, 2018
Weβve been supporting @SamaritansBham @samaritans today for #BrewMonday encouraging people to talk over a brew @NetworkRailBHM pic.twitter.com/KVOoSCRCEE
— BTP Birmingham (@BTPBhm) January 15, 2018
Happy #BrewMonday ! Having great cuppas and good chats ππΌ @samaritans pic.twitter.com/72Mqhf2XVx
— beetle reaper (@bithegay) January 15, 2018
Love it – turn #BlueMonday into #BrewMonday – #Inspired π
— Peter Long (@Peter_S_Long) January 15, 2018
If you need to speak to someone you can call or email Birmingham Samaritans.