The Recovery College for the Black Country is excited to announce our next round of Open Days to welcome prospective new students! These events provide an opportunity for you to learn more about The Recovery College and how we support mental health through education and collaborative learning. Open Days will be held across Sandwell, Wolverhamp...

It's International Day of Happiness. The theme for 2025 is Caring and Sharing. It reminds us that lasting happiness comes from caring for each other, feeling connected and being part of something bigger. "We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people,...

This week it is Nutrition and Hydration Week! The purpose of this week is to bring people together to create energy, focus and fun in order to highlight and educate people on the value of food and drink in maintaining health and well being in health and social care! One of the key aim of the week is to Reinforce, Focus and Energise! Why i...

When it comes to inclusion, neurodiversity refers to a world where neurological differences are recognised and respected as all other human variations. What is Neurodiversity Celebration Week? Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. Its purpose is ...

This year the theme is Make Sleep Health a Priority. There's a close relationship between sleep and mental health. Everyone needs sleep, but many of us have problems getting enough and it can sometimes feel hard to know how or when to get help for such a common issue.  Did you know? Healthy sleep means more than simply 'enough sleep' – sleep i...

At The Recovery College facilitators play a huge part in shaping courses, providing feedback and bringing their lived experience to inform the College's policies and approaches. Today we are chatting to Hazel.  What is your job role and what subjects do you cover? Hi I'm Hazel and I am one of the facilitators at the Recovery College. As a faci...

Together, let's #AccelerateAction for gender equality! International Women's Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate all the women in our lives - your mum, sister, daughter, friend, colleague - the list goes on! It is a day to celebrate the achievements of women throughout history and inspire future generations. At The Recovery College we want to...

On the 8th March, we remember and honour the many movements which fought for women's rights and liberation – and those who continue that struggle to this day. But what is less talked about is how intertwined Women's Movements were with working class organisation. Typically we're presented with a story of middle and upper-class women, such as the Su...

 Shrove Tuesday also known as Pancake Day is marked on a different day each year to mark the start of the Christian festival of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is the beginning of the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter. But why do we eat pancakes? The tradition of Pancake Day comes from families using up all their ingredients in their cupboard before L...

We are back with our Recovery College Hub Highlights series! The RC Hub is a mental health, recovery, health and wellbeing resource library, for people living in the Black Country. It is ever-growing with new activities, leaflets, videos and other tools to help you. Access the Recovery College Hub here: The RC Hub Within the Hub, there are many cat...

Ramadan Mubarak from all at The Recovery College. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is a holy month dedicated to prayer and reading the Quran. The exact dates of Ramadan change every year. This is because Islam uses a calendar based on the cycles of the Moon.  Ramadan will come to an end with Eid Al-Fitr, ca...

An afternoon of relaxed chat, support and discussion around peri-menopause and menopause over a cup of coffee.   The event will include conversations around how it can affect women and what help and support is available both for self-care and HRT and other medical treatments. The session will be led by Dr Heidi Kerr and will be relaxed, f...

It's been a great month here at The Recovery College, As we enter the second half of our term lets reflect on the successes of February.  At the start of February the marketing team hosted a Time to Talk Day event online. Time to Talk Day is a day for friends, families, communities and workplaces to come together to talk, listen...

Here is a presentation created by one of our students who attends our LGBTQ+ group based at our Wolverhampton base.  It highlights the social and political impact of Section 28 enacted in 1988.  Although overturned in 2003, this legislation cast a massive shadow on the LGBTQ+ community and created an atmosphe...

The Recovery College for the Black Country has launched on Instagram! On this account you'll find updates on events, courses, hear from our students, plus chances to meet our amazing team. It is important that we stay connected with our students and this will be another platform for you to get in touch with us and see important updates.  ...

One of our students from LGBTQ+ group has created a presentation to raise awareness and visibility of Asexuality. This presentation is full of information and answers questions such as: - What is Asexuality? - What does each colour mean on the flag? - How can I be an ally? - Representation in the LGBTQ+ community, fictional characters and cele...

Here at the Recovery College we have a really great team of dedicated facilitators who make your recovery journey as smooth and as friendly as possible. Next in our Day in the Life of series, Meet Stuart one of our fabulous facilitators.. Can you describe your job role as a Facilitator Hi I'm Stuart and I am a Facilitator with the Recovery College....

Are you over 50 and looking for a friendly group to join for a drink and a chat? You are welcome at Coffee Mates! Join Age UK at Smethwick Library from the 4th March for a new friendly, welcoming space to chat, make new friends and grab a hot drink. Open from 11am-1pm.  For more information, please email wellbeing@ageuksandwell....

It's LGBT+ History Month, this year's theme is Celebrating Activism and Social Change. One of our students from our LGBTQ+ Recover Together group has researched and written a summary of 10 Historical Activists that lived in the United Kingdom to share on our blog. We hope you enjoy reading about these Activists and if any of the...

 February is LGBT+ History Month. The theme for 2025 is Activism and Social Change, one approach to activism is through sharing stories. At The Recovery College, we have a great Recover Together LGBTQ+ group as part of our connecting pathway where we meet and learn about things close to the hearts of the LGBTQ+ community.  Today's post is...