By Olympic gold champion Rebecca Adlington pays visit to NAViGO in Grimsby
Successful British swimmer and Olympic gold champion Rebecca Adlington visited NAViGO in Grimsby this week to discuss her own experience with mental health and social media abuse.
Rebecca joined the team at North East Lincolnshire’s leading mental health provider at Grimsby Auditorium as they hosted their annual general meeting and celebration.
The Head of Corporate Affairs for NAViGO, Julie Gray, said: “We’re delighted Rebecca joined us for our annual celebration, particularly as we are celebrating our tenth anniversary year – it was good to hear more about her personal journey.
“We use our AGM to remove stigma and change perception of mental health by inviting high profile guests to speak of their experiences.
“It’s really important to show that everyone’s personal mental health can be affected at any time.”
After experiencing success at the Beijing Olympics, Rebecca Adlington made headlines and, following her retirement in 2013, she now makes regular TV appearances and recently covered the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
She also appeared on the hit ITV game show, ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!’ – but faced a barrage of abuse via social media attacking her personally during her time on the show.
As a result, she has now become a role model to people who have suffered from online bullying, supporting others who may be facing similar issues.
As she met staff and toured NAViGO sites, Rebecca said: “It’s absolutely incredible – the staff, the facilities – just everything. I’ve never ever been to any mental health services before so to see it first-hand has just been incredible and totally not what I expected.
“The facilities are so fantastic.”
Julie added: “After the last year, it’s been a good opportunity for us to take stock and say a massive thank you to our staff but more importantly look to the future.
“We want to continue improving and developing services for the people of North East Lincolnshire so we can support them in their mental wellbeing.”
