The founder of a Selby charity is the star guest in the latest episode of a groundbreaking new mental health podcast series from the pioneering open access operator Hull Trains.
John Venable from The Big Communi-Tea has shared the powerful story that led him to start the mental health charity after he was involved in a car accident. John also shares the funding challenges that the charity faces on a daily basis.
Episodes of ‘Moving Minds’ are recorded during real Hull Trains journeys on the East Coast Main Line, with interviewees joining the onboard studio at destinations between East Yorkshire and London King’s Cross. The video podcasts feature special guests sharing their own mental health stories and wellbeing tips.
Hull actor Gemma Oaten is hosting the series – a familiar face from her roles on shows including Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Holby City. As the CEO of the eating disorder support service Seed, Gemma has spoken publicly about her own mental health journey and passion for getting people to talk about how they’re feeling.
The first series of the podcast also features the star of Channel 5’s Dogs Behaving Badly, Graeme Hall. During the episode, Graeme catches the train with Gemma from Selby, his hometown, to Hull. They discuss the positive impact that animals can have on mental health, as well as how Graeme has coped with his rise to fame. The Olympic gold medallist and Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire Luke Campbell will also be joining Gemma in the coming weeks, discussing his own experiences with mental health and how he deals with social media scrutiny.
John Venable, founder of The Big Communi-Tea, said: “Thank you to Hull Trains for the invitation to be a guest on the first series of Moving Minds. We’ve got a brilliant relationship with the team who have supported us with many initiatives over the years.
“We can only break the stigma around mental health if we talk about it and that’s exactly what Gemma and I did during our journey. I was pleased to be able to speak about the challenges we face as a charity too. I hope those listening will take something positive away from our conversation.”
Keir Mather MP, Member of Parliament for Selby, said: “It’s been a real pleasure to see the difference made by John and everyone at The Big Communi-Tea during my time as Selby’s MP. His resilience and dedication shines right through in the work he does, and I’m very much looking forward to hearing his reflections in the latest episode of their podcast.”
“As Selby’s representative, I’d like to thank Hull Trains for their continued support for good causes in our region. As well as connecting Selby with the capital and other destinations like Doncaster and Hull, their commitment to supporting people along their route is incredibly impressive. I know I speak for people right across our town when I see we enormously value the contribution they make.”
Deborah Birch, Head of Human Resources at Hull Trains, added: “Moving Minds is a very significant moment for us as we celebrate our 25th year of serving our loyal customers. Mental health is something that we’re passionate about supporting for both our colleagues and our customers.
“I hope that this new podcast will be an opportunity for Gemma and our special guests like John to share their own stories and how they look after their own wellbeing. A conversation can be very powerful and often a train journey provides some real thinking time and a space to have conversations that really matter.”
‘Moving Minds’ is the first podcast that the operator has released and it will be watchable on the Hull Trains YouTube channel, as well as being available on other podcast platforms.