Menopause and Me – Suffolk Libraries needs your help!
Suffolk Libraries is reaching out to anyone affected by the menopause or perimenopause to help shape its new Menopause project.
‘Menopause & Me’ is a new support programme funded by the Department of Health to support anyone experiencing the menopause or perimenopause and to work with local employers to help them provide more support to their staff.
Suffolk Libraries will be officially launching the programme on 23 March and is asking individuals and employers to take part in a survey to gauge people’s opinions and experiences.
Local employers are being asked to fill in a short survey to help Suffolk Libraries understand what support already exists for employees experiencing the menopause and how Menopause & Me can help. The survey will be open until the end of March.
If any Suffolk businesses would like to know more about the project and becoming involved, they can email bethany.fisher@suffolklibraries.co.uk for more information.
Suffolk Libraries is also keen to hear from individuals who have been impacted by the menopause or perimenopause. There is another separate survey which people can fill in about their personal experiences with the menopause.
Bethany Fisher, Menopause & Me Project Lead, said:
“Employees who are most likely to experience the menopause or perimenopause usually have a great deal of skill, knowledge and experience to bring to our workplaces so it’s vital to support them when they go through this big change in their life.
"We want to understand what support is already out there and how we can help employers to do more for their staff. We want Menopause & Me to engage with as many local businesses as possible so we can help more people so the more feedback we get the better.”
Menopause & Me is being funded by £170k of funding from the Department of Health and Social Care’s Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Fund. The fund aims to help people to remain in or return to the workplace through and following pregnancy, pregnancy loss or menopause which was one of the aims set out in the first ever Women’s Health Strategy for England.
Suffolk Libraries will be working with Suffolk Mind and other partners on the project which will focus on several key elements:
- Working with local employers to encourage them to sign up to a pledge to support people experiencing the menopause or perimenopause
- Supporting people with lived experience of the menopause to help to develop ways of supporting them and other people
- Producing and sharing a range of dedicated resources via the Suffolk Libraries website all designed to support employers and people experiencing the menopause or perimenopause.
Suffolk Libraries will also be working with Suffolk Mind and other partners as the project develops. For more information visit our Menopause & Me page.