Herefordshire MIND Mind@40 Expo – 20th to 27th November

Herefordshire MIND had a series of events at St. Peter’s Hereford in the week from 20th to 27th November,  including their AGM on 23rd. On 27th, they ended with a lecture on the History of Mental Health in Herefordshire (including Monmouthshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire at one time).

Change in our area mirrored changes in thinking elsewhere. Before the end of the eighteenth century, care was given locally. Parishes as well as the families of those concerned, took on the care of those with some mental problems. In the nineteenth century, care became more institutionalised on a larger scale as developments in medical thought brought a more scientific approach to diagnosis and treatment. Firstly the institution in Abergavenny covering four counties and then St. Mary’s Burghill, mirroring changes in the law and arrangements between authorities. For more information on these institutions, click here. Thinking changed and it was thought better if people were not kept in large institutions and St. Mary’s closed in 1994. Although for most, this was a good move, for some it was not something with which they could cope. This led to the foundation of Herefordshire Mind forty years ago which carries on its good work today. Here is a link to their web-site.