MENTAL health barriers are set to be broken down in Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset with a new Face 2 Face project.

A Time to Change grant, run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness and funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, has been awarded to Face 2 Face.

Managed by Richmond Fellowship, in partnership with community interest company ZooFish Arts and Borough of Poole, it will be led by people with mental health problems.

The aim is to bring people who don’t have mental health problems into social contact with those who do, recruiting 30 volunteers to attend festivals and community events and run simple arts based activities and workshops.

Doug Low from Richmond Fellowship said: “We have bold plans to really transform the way people in our local community see mental health problems by encouraging conversations and offering them the chance to find out more about mental health.”

It will be launched at the Boscombe Family Fun Day on Saturday, April 19 at Boscombe Chine Gardens from 11am to 4pm, where there will be a stall providing free printing and badge making.