12 May 2025
The forms a community can take are as varied and unique as the people that make them. Sports teams and volunteering groups which provide a sense of purpose and connection, friends who offer perspective and fun, and work colleagues who become friends.
This year, Mental Health Awareness Week (12–18 May) is focused on the power of community for wellbeing, recognising its role in providing a sense of belonging, support, and connection.
OT asked practitioners to share one of the communities that is important to them and the difference this network makes in their lives.
“Being part of a supportive football community reminds me of the importance of connection, patience, and celebration of small wins”
Ashley Smith, dispensing optician and lead area manager at Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care, on supporting a football community for local children
I’m currently involved with Lordswood Youth Football Club, which supports children from the local community with their football journey from five to 18 years old. We currently have more than 200 children signed to the club.
When my son was five, we were looking for a community-based football club for him to join. Lordswood Youth FC were promoting their soccer school while also looking for coaches to assist. The rest, as they say, is history.
My time at the club is split in four directions. On the field, I am currently the lead coach for our soccer school, alongside coaching our under 11s team. Off the field, I am the club’s child welfare officer. My main responsibility here is the ensure that all children within our club are safe and have the best environment to play the sport they love. Finally, I am the club’s vice chairman. Within this role I suppose the chairman in the day-to-day running of the club, ensuring the children have the best facilities we can provide.
I love supporting my local community and giving all the children within the club a safe place to play football. I am a passionate football fan, and I really enjoy passing my knowledge down to the children when they are in my sessions. It’s great when you see them enjoying playing and spending time with their friends.
It’s not just about teaching football, it’s about building confidence, friendships, and mental wellbeing for all of us, including myself
Coaching at our football club is incredibly rewarding for my mental health. It gives me a sense of purpose and joy, knowing I’m helping young players grow – both on and off the pitch. The energy and enthusiasm the kids bring to each session is contagious, and it lifts my mood no matter how stressful the day has been. Coaching also helps me stay active. Focusing on drills, teamwork, and encouragement keeps my mind engaged and positive.
Most of all, being part of a supportive football community reminds me of the importance of connection, patience, and celebration of small wins. It’s not just about teaching football, it’s about building confidence, friendships, and mental wellbeing for all of us, including myself.
I was recently nominated for a Grassroots Football Award by a colleague at the club. The award is a very special one for any football fan – I was invited to play at Wembley Stadium in December. It was great to be recognised along with 31 other coaches from across the country, creating a connection that only a few will ever be able to experience.
“Wherever I look at work, there is someone who I can trust”
Becci Zawadzki, optometrist and Hakim Group independent practice partner, on establishing a trusted circle in the workplace
I am very passionate about my work community. There are two parts to it: my co-directors and the practice team. Wherever I look at work, there is someone who I can trust, who I can talk to if I need to, and who I can vent to.
I work with four co-directors in the practice, along with Gavin Rebello and Imran Hakim in the wider Hakim Group family. I rely on them all so much and we work really well together as a team. We became co-directors together when Gloucester Medical Eye Centre and Norville Gloucester Opticians merged, and we’ve been in it together for nearly four years. We have been on some amazing highs and some challenging lows. There is no way I would have been able to do this by myself.
There are slight nuances between us and different interests. We all have strengths in different areas, which makes us the perfect team. We mapped out our personalities and found that we have a little bit of everything covered within the five co-directors in the practice. We make all the decisions in the practice, and if we need help making a choice, the support is there from our HG Practice Buddy Mark and Hakim Group HQ if needed. It is the best move I have ever made.
I have a lot going on: work is really busy and I’m also studying for my independent prescribing exams. It’s nice to know that if I get to a point where I can’t take on any more, I can hand things over to my co-directors and they will get it done. We have a really good trust circle.
I also work with some of my best friends – I have known them for years. They started off as colleagues at a different practice and they’ve moved with us, so we have found our way to working together again. We’re not always in the same practice now, but they are all still with me, and it’s nice to be able to have a chat between patients or pick up the phone and have a natter. We all go out socially together too.
Seeing some of the members of the team, who we worked with before, grow in their responsibilities and confidence has been amazing. It’s been nice to watch everybody change, as we all change together. There was a moment during our first Christmas party when we were all on the dance floor together in one big circle and I looked around and thought: “Wow. These are all my team.”
We are chilled as directors, and I think that passes on to the team and the patients too. I love talking to people. What makes me happy at work is that I get to spend 40 minutes with my patients, and I probably spend 20 minutes of that time talking to the patient as a person. Each person I see, I get to learn a little more about them.
Everyone in the practice is really smiley, so it is obvious if one of us is having a bad day because you can tell instantly if they are not their normal, cheerful self. We will always ask: “Is everything okay? Do you want a quick chat? Is there anything I can do?” If something is bothering somebody, we’ll talk about it and try to resolve it as best we can within the work community. I can talk to the team and the team can talk to me. We’re there for each other if we need it.
“There is no competition – just shared support, shared wins, and time to unwind”
Zak Saleem, final year at the University of Plymouth and AOP student representative, on the fresh perspectives a community provides
I have a close group of friends from school, university, and my cricket team. We are all in a mix of industries; finance, law, dentistry, physiotherapy, tech, and professional sport. It is a diverse, tight-knit group that has grown naturally over the years.
Whether it is golf on a Sunday morning, cricket training midweek, grabbing a coffee, catching up over food, or the occasional weekend trip – it is a chilled and pressure free time where we can switch off and just enjoy each other’s company. It is always a positive atmosphere with plenty of laughs and genuine conversation. We keep in touch regularly and there is always someone checking in.
I value the perspective and balance they bring. We are all in demanding careers. Stepping away from the world of optometry and being around people with different pressures, mindsets, and routines, helps me maintain a balanced outlook. There is no competition – just shared support, shared wins, and time to unwind.
The effect on my wellbeing is massive. Whether I’ve had a demanding clinic day, or I’m feeling the weight of academic pressures, the combination of laughter, support, and quality downtime, is the perfect way to take a step back and rest. I feel it’s a key part of how I look after my mental wellbeing.
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