A new skiffle band has been set up in Kent in a bid to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health.

Sevenoaks Area Mind (SAM), in partnership with local blues club Bottle with the Blues has organised a skiffle band made up of both members of the charity and members of the public.

The band, named the Skiffle Express, has been awarded a Time to Change grant which is being used to help spread the word and develop the band.

The aim is to bring people who don’t have mental health problems into social contact with those who do.

The idea was developed by clients who were inspired by skiffle music to form their own orchestra and the Skiffle Express has now been playing music together since 2012.

Members are aiming to raise £1,000 to produce a CD made up of songs performed by themselves, donating any excess money to SAM.

They will be performing at eight interactive events in Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Ramsgate, Chatham, Dover, Gravesend, Ashford and Canterbury.

Some members are volunteer ambassadors all of whom have lived experienced of mental health problems, past or present, and have been trained and supported to engage with the audience in personal conversations about mental health using their own experience.

Natasha Crist, 59, a Sevenoaks Area Mind service user and member of Skiffle Express, said: "Sevenoaks Area Mind is such a great place, it is our sanctuary and for many of us we would be lost without the help the staff there provide.

"Being part of the Skiffle Band has also been a huge part of my life for the past few years. I am an ambassador so speak to other people about my mental health issues along the way.

"We need to remove the stigma around mental health and the discrimination, many people don't understand the problems that some people suffer from.

"I have had mental health issues and you can feel so, so alone. We are using the band to raise awareness and discuss mental health in an interactive way."

The band forms part of Time to Change, England’s largest mental health anti-stigma programme run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.

Sevenoaks Area Mind’s chief executive Jill Roberts said: “We are delighted to have received the Time to Change grant. Overcoming mental health stigma and discrimination is one of our key aims as a charity and we are looking forward to working with communities and our local partners across Kent to really make a positive difference."

“Just a few small words can make a big difference to someone with a mental health problem and talking about the issue really helps to break down the stigma and discrimination" - Jill Roberts...

“Just a few small words can make a big difference to someone with a mental health problem and talking about the issue really helps to break down the stigma and discrimination."

The project is looking to recruit at least 24 Volunteer Ambassadors with lived experience of mental health problems and a project co-ordinator to help deliver the project.

Sue Baker, director of Time to Change, said: “We know that one of the most powerful ways to change attitudes is when people take the lead in driving change within their own communities.

"What works in one community may not work in another, so through the grants scheme we are putting the power to make change happen locally in the hands of the experts – the people who know their communities the best."

“We were impressed by Sevenoaks Area Mind's Skiffle project proposal and we hope to see some excellent work coming out of their local community.”

A mental health well-being day is due to be held at The River Centre in Medway Wharf Road, Tonbridge on Friday, October 10 between 11am and 3pm.

Guests can take parts in live music, fitness routines, cookery demonstrations and receive relaxation tips. For more info call Lucy Adams at Sevenoaks Area Mind on 01732 744950 or visit www.sevenoaksareamind.org.uk