Caring Town Totnes is holding a free mental health and suicide awareness training day as part of its We Care programme.

Working in partnership with Action to Prevent Suicide, the training is open to anyone in Totnes and the surrounding area.

It is taking place on Tuesday May 16 from 10am to 1pm at Totnes Civic Hall and is designed to teach participants more about mental health and how to best support people in their community, family, workplace or group.

Aydin Boyacigiller, Caring Town project manager, said: “We want to offer staff, volunteers, sports leaders, youth leaders, business leaders and members of our community the opportunity to build their awareness around mental health: we believe that with more awareness, Totnes can be become an even more caring town.

“We plan to offer more such training over the year, with a view to making Totnes a more mental health aware and caring town.”

Caring Town is a new kind of community-led, bottom-up collaboration that includes the voluntary, public and private sector.

Caring Town has formed a local network of more than 80 organisations and groups who provide services and activities that support health and well being.

The groups have come together to pool resources, skills and ideas to try to make sure that Totnes and it’s neighbouring villages has the health and social care needed, across all stages of life.

For more information about Caring Town and the network of local organisations involved visit www.caringtown.org.uk.