What is Calm

The Campaign Against Living Miserably is targeted at young men aged between 15-35. The campaign offers help, information and advice via a phone and web service. Anyone, regardless of age, gender or geographic location can call the line.

The campaign was launched as a pilot by the Dept of Health in Manchester on Dec 15th 1997, and then rolled to Merseyside, Cumbria and later Luton & Bedfordshire.  In 2004 the Dept of Health announced the end of the pilot.  However, those involved on the ground felt it was important the line was continued, and c.a.l.m. the charity was launched March 31st 2006 with ads on MTV and posters and billboards provided by JCDecaux, Clear Channel and Viacom across England in April and May 2006.

Working with people from the music, sport and club scenes, c.a.l.m. encourages young men to 'open up' and sort out their problems. c.a.l.m. has a strong and very real presence through club flyers, posters, beermats, gigs and in the media.

There are many reasons why young men need a campaign like c.a.l.m.. Everyone has their own life, with different interests, circumstances, pressures and problems. But men aren't supposed to talk about stuff, so it can be hard to know where or who to go for help when life gets on top of them.

The Service

The helpline is operational between 5pm and 3am every day of the year. Calls are free (from landlines) and confidential (see policies). A minicom service is available on 0800 027 2982. There is also a language line facility operational on the line from 5pm until 11pm.

There is pressure on men to deal with problems on their own. To be strong and silent. It can be hard to talk about personal things - especially with family or friends - and things that start off as little niggles can easily grow into big issues that get in the way of life.

The important thing to remember is that if you are feeling down, isolated or generally pissed off, you are not alone. It happens to everyone at some time in their lives. But you have to deal with it, otherwise will become overwhelming.

CALM's helpline is free if you call on a landline - it doesn't show up on landline phone bills. It's also confidential and anonymous. Your call will be answered by trained advisors, who can help you work through your problems and start to sort things out.   They can give you information about places to go locally to get more help. Alternatively, if you live outside the CALMzones, they can give you details of nationally available services instead.

Complaints

If a caller is unhappy about the service they should ask to speak to the Senior Quality Operations Manager. If the caller is still not satisfied the can write to Senior Quality Operations Manager, CALM, PO Box 4000, GLASGOW G3 8XX. Or fax the complaint to to: 0141 568 4001.  You can also  email: janepowell@thecalmzone.net. A written reply to any complaint received is guaranteed within 28 days of receipt of the complaint.

The Charity

c.a.l.m. the charity, registration number 1110621, was formed in 2005 to take over responsibility for running the Dept of Health pilot.

Staff

Jane Powell, National Development Coordinator
Simon Howes, Merseyside CALMzone Coordinator

Web editorial team:
Chris Duncan, Editor
Phat Phil
Tom Phongsathorn, currently working at Tate Etc.
Joe Jollie, games reviewer, student in media studies
Dr Alex Shand , a doctor living and working in London, medical editorial content and monitoring.

Trustees

Anthony Wilson, Broadcaster, Co-Founder of Factory Records Factory Records

Prof Mark Bellis, Director of Public Health and Health Studies at John Moores University. Special interest in substance and alcohol misuse and healthy nightclubs

Dr E Church, Chair. Consultant in Public Health - Central Liverpool PCT

Janet Finucane, Associate Head, Manchester Joint Commissioning Team

Andrew Gregory, Company Secretary. DWF solicitors, one of the countries leading lawyers on business recovery

Mark Needham, Practitioner/ author in working with young men and mental health NW Personality Disorder Lead, Suicide Prevention Associate, NIMHE National Institute for Mental Health in England

Jude Stansfield, Vice Chair. Mental Health Promotion Lead, (NIMHE) National Institute for Mental Health in England.

Cathryn Wright, Treasuer.  Cathryn is Head of Finance at the Manchester City Centre Project and a freelance accountant.

Patrons

David Baddiel, Comedien, Writer & Broadcaster

James Scroggs, MTV - VP Marketing

Advisors

Prof Louis Appleby.  Louis Appleby is National Director for Mental Health in England and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester.

Emily Eavis.  In Emily left her teaching studies to help her father run Glastonbury festival. Since then, she has taken on an increasing role in the organisation of the festival. She has also worked with Oxfam on their “Make Trade Fair” campaign.

Keith Harris.  Keith currently manages Lain Gray and still represents Stevie Wonder. Senior Fellow of the University of Westminster and Chairman of Musictank.

Gary McClaranan, Sparkle Street and Vice Chair of the Music Managers Association, Manager of Mr Scruff.

Steve Smith. Established events company Ear to the Ground, D.percussion festival, Canteena and the Manchester in Malaysia festival in Kuala Lumpur. Steve has been a nonexec director of Chrysalis radio for 7 years.

Indra Morris, Consultant at Accenture and senior member of the Government Strategy team.

Dr Adrian North, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Leicester. His research concerns music in everyday life, including issues such as music adolescent problem behaviour.

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