TTC Village Toolkit interactive FINAL v9.2

Introducing the
Time to Change Village
Next

1. Introducing the Village
• About this Guide Page 3
• What is the Time to Change Village? Page 4
• How does the Time to Change Village work? Page 4
• Time to Change Community Events Page 4
2. Planning your Time to Change Village
• Planning your Time to Change Community Village Page 5
• Volunteer Co-ordinators Page 6
• Venue/Location Page 6
• Timeline Page 7
• Other Things to Consider Page 8
3. Individual Elements of the Village
• The Cinema Page 9
• The Tea Room Page 11
• The Village Store Page 13
• The Post Office/Newsagent Page 14
• The Surgery Page 16
• The Village Green Page 17
• Volunteer Registration Tent/Quiet Space Page 19
4. Building a Village
• Marquees - how to put them up Page 20
• Chairs and Tables; Pavements Signs; Park Benches; Flags; Post-box Page 22
• Artificial Turf; Electric Cabling and Casing; Safety and Security; Power source Page 23
5. Unlocking the potential of the
Time to Change Village Page 24
Contents
Introducing the Time to Change Village – Page 2Back Next

Introducing the Village
About this Guide
This guide provides basic information needed to set
up and run a Time to Change Village. It will also help
you decide whether this is something that you want
to do. After reading it you should be familiar with
the following:
• The Village idea and how it is used for social
contact
• The process of planning a Village, including
the number of volunteers you will need
• The individual elements of the Village kit
• How to ‘build’ a Village
The guide is designed to complement our Community
Event Toolkit which covers everything you will need
to know about running a public event as part of the
Time to Change campaign. The Community Event
Toolkit can be found at www.time-to-change.org.uk.
We advise that you familiarise yourself with the
Community Event Toolkit before reading this guide.
It contains important information such as what
we mean by ‘Social Contact’, how to promote and
evaluate your event, volunteer recruitment, risk
assessments and insurance.
In this guide we will explain how each element
of the Village may be used to start conversations.
However, if you need any further information on
the principles behind social contact, please see the
Time to Change website www.time-to-change.org.uk.
Introducing the Time to Change Village – Page 3 NextBack

What is the Time to Change Village?
The Time to Change Village is a large-scale
community engagement event idea that facilitates
conversation around mental health issues (social
contact). It consists of several marquees that are used
to facilitate social contact between Time to Change
volunteers and the public. It encourages people to
talk to one another!
How does the Time to Change
Village work?
The Time to Change Village is just like any other
village or community where you might find amenities
such as a post office, a shop, tea room, cinema,
village green or surgery. However, in the Time to
Change Village these are housed in pop-up marquees
which are used as tools to get people talking about
mental health.
Social Contact
At a Time to Change Village, Social Contact happens
when someone with experience of a mental health
problem comes together with someone who doesn’t
have, or isn’t aware that they have, this experience.
Information is exchanged, experiences shared,
and people get to know each other. In this context,
disclosure around mental health can lead to an increase
in knowledge, a shift in perception, or even a complete
change in beliefs, as this person reassesses their
attitude towards people with mental health problems.
Conversations are the most important activity at Time
to Change Villages to break down stigma about mental
health. These conversations are had between volunteers
and members of the public.
The advantage of the Village format is that there
are a lot of activities that volunteers can use to start
conversations which can be the first step in disclosing
their own experience of mental health problems.
Time to Change Community events
In the past few years’ Time to Change Villages have
popped-up in city centres, African and Caribbean
carnivals, LGBT pride festivals, the Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park, an agricultural show and even a
rugby match at Twickenham!
The marquee element of Time to Change Village events
is where all activities take place. The advantage of using
marquees is their flexibility:
• They can ‘pop-up’ almost anywhere, meaning
we can reach out to people from a wide variety
of communities
• The number of marquees used can be varied,
meaning that they can all be used as a stand-alone
event or just one or two of them can pop-up
in smaller spaces or as part of another event
• The activities inside the marquees can be varied
depending upon what works best for the local
community. At past events we have had a yoga
zone, a youth club, accessible sports, circus skills
a DJ shack and many more innovative activities.
We welcome creative thinking about how you use
the spaces within the Village to best attract
your audience
• The marquees provide cover during inclement
weather. When it rains your activities may become
even more enticing as people shelter in the marquee

Planning your
Villages take a lot of preparation and planning to
ensure that everything is in place prior to the event.
However, as they may be such large events with
so many different activities going on, things are
bound to come up on the day that you have not
prepared for.
Your Village size depends space available
& amount of volunteers
The size of your Village should be determined by:
i. the number of volunteers you realistically
think you can recruit
ii. the amount of space that you have
Volunteers
An event using all of the marquees would require
approximately 26-36 volunteers per shift and
a shift should not be longer than around three
or four hours.
We have estimated how many volunteers you would
need per marquee. Please find this information below
under each marquee section (i.e. the Cinema, the
Tea Room).
However, there are many factors that can influence
how many volunteers are on site at any one time:
• Some volunteers may decide to remain for more
than one shift
• Some volunteers may realise that the experience
is not for them and may leave early
• All volunteers should be provided with the
opportunity to take regular breaks, which will
affect the number of volunteers on site at any
one time
• There can be dropout rates of up to 50% between
registration and the event date
For a full Village with six marquees we would
therefore recommend trying to recruit around
80 – 100 volunteers to cover the whole day.

Volunteer Co-ordinators
Volunteer Co-ordinators are responsible for
managing the volunteers at a Village event.
It is key to ensure that you have enough support
from experienced Volunteer Co-ordinators and
other staff to ensure that you are able to cope with
any difficulties on the day, and that your volunteers
are being looked after at the same time.
Volunteer Co-ordinators are more experienced
volunteers who should be DBS checked and can
provide support to the volunteers within the area
of the village to which they are assigned.
We recommend that Volunteer Co-ordinators get
to know the volunteers in their section of the village
and are able to step in to help with any difficult
conversations with members of the public.
Volunteer Co-ordinators should also take practical
steps to ensure that the volunteers in their area
are safe and comfortable, including reminding them
to take breaks and drink plenty of water.
Venue/Location
When choosing your venue for the Village you may
wish to consider the following:
• Footfall: the success of the event depends very
much on members of the public coming into the
Village so you should choose a location that
gets busy
• It is easier to request to join in with an existing
event that will attract ‘passing trade’ rather than
to set up your own event and try to encourage an
audience to attend. We call this piggy-backing
• Indoors versus outdoors: the weather can make
or break a Village but indoor venues such as
shopping centres can also bring problems such
as limitations on the heights of marquees
• For indoor events we can provide Time to Change
branded barrier systems as an alternative to
marquees. These barriers can be used to divide
your event into zones, however, please be aware
that only a limited number of barriers will
be available

4 months before
the event
• Determine your budget
• Decide where your event will be taking place
• Decide what partner organisations you would like to include and approach them
3 months before
the event • Set up an Advisory Panel of local partners and meet with them to discuss
details of the event
• Set the event date
• Decide on and book a venue/location
• Decide what elements you would like to include in your Village and how many
volunteers you will need
• Order any materials you will need for volunteer recruitment e.g. posters,
leaflets
• Order any materials that you will need from the central Time to Change Team
e.g. Village Passports, leaflets (explained later in the guide)
• Seek the involvement of any local celebrities who might help to draw publicity
2 months before
the event • Book venues for volunteer training
• Open volunteer recruitment
• Advertise for volunteers on social media and your website. Post your event on
the Time to Change website
• Put up any volunteer recruitment posters
• Book any activities that you will be including as part of the village
• Book a photographer if needed or find a volunteer to do the photography
• Complete a risk assessment and a method statement*
• Check if any other Health and Safety documents are required by the venue
• Recruit volunteer coordinators and ensure that they have been DBS checked
and approved to work with adults, and that at least two have been DBS
checked and approved to work with children
Timeline
We recommend that you start the preparation for your village around four months before it takes place.
You might like to consider the following elements when planning your activity although this is not an
exhaustive list:

1 month before
the event
• Start to draft your press release*
• Decide who will act in ’loco parentis’ for any under 18 year olds taking part
• Check through volunteer registration forms for any issues e.g. accessibility
requirements
• Send a confirmation email to volunteers to let them know that they have
been accepted
• Confirm to volunteers which training session they will be attending
• Make volunteers aware of any travel expenses limit
• Order the elements of the Village Kit that you will need using our
Inventory Order Form*
• Check the timings during which the venue will allow you to set up
• Finalise activities program and make any advance payments needed
2 weeks before
the event • Send out the Volunteer Briefing pack*
• Book any First Aid cover required
1 week before
the event • Ensure that you have printed the necessary paperwork*
• Send out your press release
• Print any name badges and signing-in sheets, being sure to keep any sensitive
information on a separate sheet
• Print pledge cards if this is an element you are using
• Ensure you have enough petty cash to cover any expenses on the day
Other things to consider
• You may wish to dedicate a marquee or other area as a quiet space for volunteers
• You may wish to consider ensuring that there is mental health support available at the
event or ensure that you have the phone numbers for local services in the event of a crisis
• Please also see the Social Contact Event Toolkit for other tips on planning your event and
supporting volunteers
*an asterisk denotes forms or materials that are available on our website

The following is a breakdown of what each element
of the Village is and how it may be used to facilitate
conversations. Equipment items in italics are not
included in our inventory and you will have to source
these yourself.
The Cinema
How it Works
We have put together two short film compilations that
last between 10-15 minutes in total. These consist of short
Time to Change films, adverts and interviews that have
been used throughout the campaign. Usually we run
these on a continuous loop so that the public can drop
in at any time and watch them.
You are welcome to use these compilations or to use
(or produce) your own. If you do produce your own
material, we would strongly suggest that you consider
the cost and organisation implications of showing your
own mental health films. You should also bear the
following in mind
• We recommend that the compilations are
no longer than 15 minutes and individual films
no longer than five minutes
• It’s also important for the picture and sound
quality to be as high as possible for projecting
• A continuous loop is much easier to manage than
showing separate films from DVDs, but we have
occasionally had discussion workshops based
around a single longer film. This worked very
well but required much more planning

Top Tip:
You could consider hiring
a popcorn machine to add
a ‘real cinema’ fun experience
element to your cinema.
Using the Cinema for Social Contact
There is also a good opportunity to engage the public
in conversation by asking them if they would like to
watch some films – the cinema looks very striking and
interesting when people are not expecting it so it’s
a great conversation starter!
When someone has watched the films you have another
opportunity to engage them in conversation when
they come out, just by asking ’what did you think of
the films?’. As they have already expressed an interest
in the campaign, they are much more likely to chat
openly after watching a video.
Social contacts are recorded using the tally charts
outlined in the event guide and we attach two of these
to the outside of the marquee, one to record the virtual
contacts and one for the face to face conversations.
Individual Elements
of the Village

Number of Volunteers
4-6 is the ideal number of people to be stationed
at the cinema at any time
Other things to think about
It’s important to be able to hear the films and if your
event has live music or other loud activity elsewhere,
think about the positioning of your marquees so that
one doesn’t drown out the other.
Power source
Think about your source of electricity. Where possible
run cables where they will not cause a trip hazard.
If this is not possible, lay matting over any cables. If
cables are on wheels, they need to be fully unwound
as the cable can overheat and become a fire hazard.
If there is no permanent source of electricity you
will need to hire a generator to power the equipment
used in the cinema. Check with the landowner
what type of generator is allowed. Diesel is usually
acceptable whereas there are restrictions on
the use of petrol powered generators. These are
best avoided.
Fire extinguishers
We can also provide a fire extinguisher for use on
electrical fires – remember to book this on the inventory
if required.
Resources
Marquee: Black, 6m x 3m x 3.25m; (m = metres)
with a roof, 4 walls and a zipped doorway. ‘Cinema’
wording on the two long sides.
Equipment: 16 chairs, laptop, speaker, projector,
screen and projector hide, 4 socket extension lead,
anti-surge adaptor, weights to help weigh down
marquee legs (2 for each corner leg). An electrical
supply is required.

The Tea Room
How it Works
The Tea Room is always a popular feature of the
Time to Change Village and it serves a double
purpose. As well as a social contact facilitator it is
where your volunteers can get a hard-earned cuppa!
Hot drinks are served to anyone approaching the Tea
Room and asking for one. Some seats are positioned
inside and more outside if the weather allows. Having
some small tables available is also useful but not
essential. A sign is placed on the Tea Room with
‘Free Hot Drinks Here’ to encourage people to come
along and volunteers can tell people that the ‘cost’
of a cuppa is a conversation!
Top Tip: Check with the
venue that it is okay to serve
drinks to visitors to your
Village. There may be
businesses who may lose
out on custom near your pitch.
Using the Tea Room for Social Contact
The main purpose of the Tea Room is as another
space where social contact happens. Volunteers
from anywhere in the Village can, when they are
having a particularly good conversation, ask the
person they’re talking to if they’d like to continue
the conversation over a hot drink. Also, if you’ve
advertised that there are free hot drinks available,
it’s likely that people will queue for them, meaning
volunteers can approach them and chat while
they’re waiting to be served.
Finally, your Tea Room staff will also be trained
volunteers and can have plenty of conversations
while they’re serving. Social contacts are recorded
on a tally chart attached to the marquee.

4-6 is the ideal number of people, with 2 or 3 serving
and the others talking!
Keep the water boiler topped up regularly – if it runs
out before you fill it, you will have a long wait until
you’re ready to serve again!
You might want to consider providing herbal and
decaffeinated tea, hot chocolate or Cuppa Soup.
Hot and cold Vimto and Ribena also go down well
on chilly or warmer days. Biscuits and homemade
cakes are additional items you might want to include
if you have the budget.
Power source
If this is not possible, lay matting over any cables. If
cables are on wheels, they need to be fully unwound
as the cable can overheat and become a fire hazard.
used in the Tea room. Check with the landowner
acceptable whereas there are restrictions on
the use of petrol powered generators. These are
best avoided.
Fire extinguishers
We can also provide a fire extinguisher for use
on electrical fires – remember to book this on
the inventory if required.
Resources
Marquee: Pink, 6m x 3m (m = metres) with a roof,
3 walls and an open front. There is a second
marquee of the same design which can be used
for a larger, covered seating area.
Equipment: 2 trestle tables, 12 chairs, hot water
boiler, 8 12.5kg weights to weigh down marquee legs
(2 for each corner leg), disposable cups, spoons
and stirrers, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar, milk,
bin liners. An electrical supply is required, along
with a supply of water.

The Village Store
How it Works
The Village Store was introduced as a way to help
collect email addresses so that we can follow
up people’s experiences at our events with a
questionnaire. In the Tea Shop various Time to
Change materials are available to anyone who
has had a conversation with a volunteer and the
‘currency’ is an email address!
The Village Store staff simply explain that someone
will email them within a couple of weeks with a
questionnaire, record the ‘customer’s’ email address
on the relevant sheet and let the customer have
what they request from the display. After the event,
the email addresses are sent to the Time to Change
Evaluation & Research team.
Top Tip: Ensure that
volunteers tell members of the
public that we do not provide
their contact details to third
parties and that they will only
be contacted in relation to
Time to Change and the
evaluation it is conducting.
Using the Village Store for Social Contact
Although the main purpose of the Village Store is for
email collection staff can use the opportunity to have
conversations about mental health.
2-4 is the ideal number of people to staff the
Village Store.
We’ve found that the Village Store works really well
alongside the Tea Room at events; this means that
the two pink 6 x 3m marquees can be used together
to maximize the space for both activities, and to
create a visually striking element of the event.
Resources
Marquee: Pink, 6m x 3m (m = metres) with a roof,
3 walls and an open front.
Equipment: 2 trestle tables, 2 chairs, 8 12.5kg
weights to weigh down marquee legs (2 for each
corner leg), Time to Change print materials.

The Post Office/Newsagent
How it Works
The Post Office/Newsagent enables people to get
talking, find out the latest news from the campaign,
make a photo pledge and spread the word beyond
the Village!
There are several things that you can do in the Post
Office/Newsagent:
• Photo Pledge – encourage people to write
a pledge and have their photo taken with it;
then print it out and add to a live gallery, which
is created throughout the day: please visit
www.time-to-change.org.uk to download
our artwork
• Postcard from the Village – get people to choose
their favourite campaign postcard, write a
message and pop it in our lovely red post-box.
After the event all postcards are sent, meaning
our message reaches out beyond the event!
Using the Post Office for Social Contact
The post-box and the pledge photo gallery can
be very attractive features in the Village, bringing
in members of the public who want to see what’s
going on. When people are looking at the pledge
photos volunteers can ask ‘What’s your favourite
pledge’ or ‘Would you like to pledge too?’. Both
questions are great conversation starters.
Similarly, volunteers can talk through some postcards
with people and ask what they think before getting
them to write and send their messages.

1 – 2 for the photo pledging, 2 for the postcard
activity and 4 ‘floating’ with campaign materials.
Have spare batteries for your camera and plenty
of ink cartridges for your printer.
If you send completed pledge cards back to the
central team, we will ensure that these are added
to our online Pledge Wall.
You may wish to advertise that you are only able
send postcards within England (depending upon your
budget) and only Time to Change postcards to help
to avoid disappointment.
We have two post-box suits that can be worn by
volunteers to encourage people to send a postcard.
They have proved very popular, particularly on
cold days.
Resources
Marquee: Orange, 3 x 3m (m = metres) with a roof,
3 walls and an open front
Equipment: 3 trestle tables, 8 12.5kg weights to
weigh down marquee legs (2 for each corner leg),
leaflet stands, leaflets, promotional materials,
postbox, postbox costume, campaign postcards.

The Surgery
How it Works
The Surgery is populated with professionals
representing local services including mental health
trusts and Foundation Trusts, local Minds, Rethink
Mental Illness as well as Mental Health First Aid
and other organisations. When volunteers are talking
to people, who might ask for information about
what’s available locally, rather than just handing
out information the volunteers can take them to
the surgery and introduce them to professionals who
can talk more about what’s available in their area.
Using the Surgery for Social Contact
The Surgery is an area for local professionals
and, when engaging the public in social contact,
it is somewhere to take people for more information
about services available locally. However, it is also
useful to have a couple of volunteers stationed
there to engage with people after they have
spoken to mental health professionals and to share
their experiences.
2 volunteers maximum, as this is mainly an area
used by external organisations.
Always ask local services to bring along printed
resources and a pop up banner if they have one –
they will be really helpful to people and also a good
engagement tool.
The Surgery is not intended as an area to provide
counselling or specific advice to an individual.
Members of the public should be signposted to local
services, helplines or websites for further support
and information – these could include NHS, Mind,
and Rethink Mental Illness.
Time to Change often invites volunteers from Mental
Health First Aid (MHFA) to attend the Villages to
provide additional support. Red Cross, St. John or
other first aid specialists can also be invited if the
venue requires that you provide first aid cover.
Resources
Marquee: Blue, 3 x 3m (m = metres) with a roof,
3 walls and an open front.
Equipment: 3 trestle tables and 6 chairs, leaflet
racks, 8 12.5kg weights to weigh down marquee
legs (2 for each corner leg).

The Village Green
How it Works
The Village Green can be used for entertainment,
activities or both. At some Village events, the Village
Green has been used purely as a stage area for
music or poetry. In these cases it was set up with
a public address system (PA) and had a full and
timed programme. At other events it has been used
for engagement activities such as face painting
and arts and crafts, which give volunteers an
opportunity to engage in social contact through
shared experiences.
Using the Village Green for Social Contact
How you use the Village Green will determine how
it can be used to facilitate social contact. If it is
largely a performance stage you should try to have
volunteers among the audience so that after music,
poetry, or theatre performances they can start
a conversation by simply saying ‘What did you
think of that?’
If the Village Green is used for other activities,
it’s important to have volunteers leading or joining
in. Popular activities at past events have included:
• Face painting: which often draws a queue,
providing a great opportunity for volunteers
to talk to people
• Bracelet making: which was led by volunteers
who engaged with the public around a shared
and positive experience
• Cake, biscuit or gingerbread men decorating:
where people can create mood faces with icing
sugar and volunteers can use the experience
to start conversations about mental health
6-10 volunteers

If you are using the Village Green as a performance
area you will need a PA system with microphones and
other accessories.
If you are using the space for art and craft activities
think about those which can be used to encourage
conversations between volunteers and members
of the public. You will need to provide materials,
e.g. bracelet-making equipment, beads and threads,
which usually cost between £30 and £40 per event.
Other suggestions could include decoration of
gingerbread men or digestive biscuits using tubes
of icing sugar. This costs around £20 per event.
Power source
If this is not possible, lay matting over any cables.
If cables are on wheels, they need to be fully
unwound as the cable can overheat and become
a fire hazard.
used in the Tea room. Check with the landowner
acceptable whereas there are restrictions on the
use of petrol powered generators. These are
best avoided.
Fire extinguishers
We can also provide a fire extinguisher for use
on electrical fires – remember to book this on
the inventory if required.
Resources
Marquee: Green and white stripes, 6 x 3m
(m = metres) with a roof, 3 walls and an
open front.
Equipment: This depends on how the Village Green
is used – if it’s for entertainment such as music,
a PA system will be required and if it’s used
for activities it’s likely that you’ll need tables
and chairs.

Volunteer registration
tent/quiet space
How it Works
Volunteer Registration is where volunteers can
register their arrival, claim travel expenses and take
a break. You may wish to use this marquee as a quiet
area for volunteers if you do not have an additional
dedicated quiet space.
Social Contact in the Volunteer Registration Tent
The volunteer registration tent should be placed
in a remote part of the Village where possible as
volunteers may wish to come here to take a break
from the crowd. Therefore social contact does not
usually take place in this tent. It is worth keeping
some campaign materials in the tent in case
members of the public do find their way into the
tent so that you can tell them about the campaign
and signpost them to the rest of the Village.
This should usually be run by two experienced
volunteers or members of staff. As there is a lot
of administration that may need to be carried out
including lost child forms, accident report forms
and travel expense claims. It is not advisable to
have volunteers exclusively staffing this marquee.
You may also wish to consider stationing someone,
with some counselling skills and Mental Health First
Aid training, in this marquee in case volunteers
encounter distressing situations at the event.
Floating volunteers
You may wish to position volunteers on the outskirts
of the Village or at strategic locations nearby to help
to draw members of the public in. These volunteers
should be provided with leaflets and campaign
materials to use to start conversations.
Resources
Marquee: 3m x 3m. Orange with a roof, 3 walls
and an open front.
Equipment: Two tables, a lockable cupboard, around
3 chairs, 8 12.5kg weights to weigh down marquee
legs (2 for each corner leg).

Building a Village
The previous section has detailed what you might
include in your Village and how each element can
be used to facilitate social contact. Now you know
the options for what might be included at your event
it’s time to learn how to build a Village.
It is usually best to arrange to construct your Village
the day prior to the event as it can take some time.
You will also need to help take down your Village
after the event at which point the kit will be returned
to storage.
Marquees – how to put them up
We will look at other items of Village kit, such as
flags and signs, a little later in the guide but the
main items you will need to construct are the
marquees which come in two sizes 6x3m and
3x3m (m = metres).
We recommend you allow around three hours to
construct the marquees, based upon eight people
putting up six marquees.
Each marquee comes in two bags: one containing
the metal frame and one the canvas sides – each
is clearly marked and the correct items should
be returned to the correct bags after the event.
The first step is to take the metal frame out of the
bag. The easiest way to do this is to stand it vertically
on its feet and slide the bag off over the top – this
requires two people. You then need to make sure that
the frame is loose as sometimes parts of the frame
wedge together in transport – simply pulling gently
on each leg and shaking the frame usually loosens
it sufficiently.
For the next stage of construction you will need
four people. Each should take a leg and slowly
walk backwards away from each other. As you walk
backwards the frame will expand and the central
pole will rise.

Before the central pole rises too high you should
take the canvas roof canopy from its bag and place
it over the top of the pole and position each corner
of the roof in place. Once the roof is roughly in place
continue to pull each leg backwards until the roof fits
tightly to the corners - at this point you should hear
the clips lock into place.
By this stage, the marquee should cover the full
floor space (either 6x3m or 3x3m) and have the
roof securely in place – the full height will not yet
be realised. You can now go underneath the marquee
and secure the roof to the frame using the several
Velcro pads or ties. If the roof has ties to secure
it in place please tie bows rather than knots so that
it easier to take down at the end.
The final stage of the frame construction is for
each person to pull out the height adjustment pins
(located on every leg) and at the same time and pace
raise the legs until five holes are showing allowing
the pins to click into place on the sixth hole. The
marquee will then be erected at its full height. With
the 6x3m marquees, if you follow this guidance for
the four corner legs the two middle ones can be
released by pulling the pins and letting the legs drop
into place.
At this point move the marquee to the position in
which you require it and put a weight (supplied with
kit) on each leg. The next step is to add the sides
to the marquee. Each side has a Velcro strip along
its full length at the top which attaches to a similar
length on the inside of the roof.
There are then several Velcro ties to secure the sides
to the legs. Finally, for extra security, there are metal
eyelets in the middle of the longest walls of the 6x3m
marquees which can be attached to the leg with
cable ties. Your marquee should now be complete
and secure.
All of the marquees have three walls and an open
side with the exception of the cinema which is
completely enclosed. When all of your marquees are
built and in place you have created all of the spaces
in your Time to Change Village and it’s time for the
finishing touches!
Whilst you may have your own ideas for making your
Village as colourful and vibrant as possible these
are the main items within the kit that you’ll probably
want to use.

Chairs and Tables
We have 60 fold up chairs and 12 tables for use in the
Village – think about how many you’ll need before
ordering and refer back to the equipment section for
each element listed earlier in the guide. For example
we recommend 16 chairs in the cinema and maybe
12 for the Village Green if you’re using it for art and
craft based activities.
Pavement Signs
There are five hard plastic sign holders which
contain A1 posters which can be placed outside each
marquee to signpost what is inside. These match the
colours of the marquees. The sign holders have
a base which can be filled with water for weighting
and stability and have two screw threads onto which
a simple wing nut is tightened.
Park Benches
These are two foldable two-seater benches which
look very authentic in the Village. They are usually
located at the Village Green and have been very
effectively utilised for photo pledging.
Flags
The village kit includes three ‘wing banner’ flags
which add a festival feel to the event as they blow
in the breeze. Like the pavement signs they have
a base which needs to be weighted with water but
they are on wheels so they can be moved into place.
The poles come in three sections, which slot together
and slide through the flag which is then clipped into
place before being inserted into the base. The flags
are very effective if placed at the entrance to the
Village one at each end and one in the middle.
Post-box
The traditional red cast iron post-box adds colour
to the Village, looks great and also has a practical
function. It is heavy and requires three people to
assemble. The post-box needs to be held horizontally
by two people while a third person secures a broad
wooden base with four nuts and bolts. Once
assembled the post-box stands very securely but
needs two people to move it into place as it is heavy.

Artificial Turf
The kit contains two strips of artificial turf which
are 4m x 2m and are particularly useful for city
centre events as they add colour and effect as well
as having the practical use of concealing electric
cables. The turf is in rolls which simply need to be
laid in position. It is ideal to lay them several hours
before an event and put heavy objects on the edges
to flatten them out.
Electric Cabling and Casing
You will probably require some power for your
Village and there are 2 x 25 metre extension cables
with casing to prevent trip hazards. You will need
to work out how many power sockets you require
and make sure that the venue provides power. If you
need a generator always check with the venue what
type they allow – if they allow generators at all.
Safety and Security
If at all possible you should set your Village up the
day before the event. Once all your marquees are
in place and weighted down you could put all of the
other items inside the cinema marquee. This can
then be closed so the rest of the Village kit is not
on display. It is then all on site and ready for the
following day. You will still need to arrive on site
at least two hours before the event with your team
who will need to lay out all the tables, chairs, flags,
and other equipment.
If you follow these guidelines, you will need
to arrange overnight security so make sure that
is factored into your budget.
Power source
If this is not possible, lay matting over any cables.
If cables are on wheels, they need to be fully
unwound as the cable can overheat and become
a fire hazard.
If there is no permanent source of electricity
you will need to hire a generator to power the
equipment used in the Tea room. Check with the
landowner what type of generator is allowed. Diesel
is usually acceptable whereas there are restrictions
on the use of petrol powered generators. These are
best avoided.
Banner Barrier System
If you want to host a smaller Village type event
indoors or outdoors, this can be achieved by using
our chrome and vinyl café banner barrier system.
The system consists of 2m lengths of branded
banners in burgundy and gold which chrome
posts, bases and hanging rails. They can be used
separately or clipped together to form a right
angle space, 2m x 2m squares or larger spaces
to accommodate activities.

In the summer of 2014, a range of organisations
including NHS Trusts and local Minds challenged
stigma and discrimination whilst raising awareness
amongst their local community with their own Time
to Change Village event. They did this with training,
support and some resources from the Community
Engagement team.
“The village came to one of our largest
festivals in Leeds in Kirkstall and we can
happily say it made an impact on the
general public. The help we received from
the national team to have the village
delivered and set up was excellent, thank
you we would not hesitate to have the
village again.”
Tricia Thorpe, Volunteer Co-ordinator, Leeds
and York NHS Partnership Foundation Trust
Contact Tricia (Leeds PFT)
tricia.thorpe@nhs.net
Time to Change Village on 12 July
at Kirkstall Festival, Leeds
Unlocking the potential of the

Time to Change Village on 25-27 July
at Sunderland Air Show
“I have worked with Time to Change
on a number of projects this year,
they are reliable, resourceful partners
with passionate staff.”
Jackie Nixon, Promoting Health
Engagement Lead, Sunderland City Council
Time to Change Village on 2 August
at LGBT Pride, Brighton
Contact Helen
helen.jones@mindout.org.uk
Contact Jackie
jackie.nixon@sunderland.gov.uk

Time to Change Village on 16 August
at Festival of Cultures, Norwich
Time to Change Village on 21 September
at Running Festival, Hereford
“A super thank you to all for a fabulous
experience!
I am sure I have never seen such a lively
and committed bunch of volunteers
at any other Time to Change event”.
Paola Colombo, Inclusion Manager,
Norwich Mind
“Thank you to all at Time to Change –
both training sessions were brilliant and
set us all up nicely.
We aim to continue as an active social
contact group in Herefordshire”.
Adrian Wilcox, Business Development
Manager, Herefordshire Mind
Contact Paola
paolacolombo@norwichmind.org.uk
Contact Adrian
Adrian.Wilcox@herefordshire-mind.org.uk

Time to Change Village on 27 September,
Hillingdon
Time to Change Village on 25 October
at Lemon Quay, Truro
“Our Time to Change event was a great
success - what is commonly described
as ‘awesome’!
A very big ‘thank you’ to everybody who
contributed to a wonderful occasion - and
especially to Alice who co-ordinated the
planning - and to the “Time to Change”
team at national Mind who provided the
training, equipment, and encouragement”.
Christopher Geake, Director,
Hillingdon Mind
“ Thank you for your help and support
over the last six weeks and for helping
us to pull off such a successful village
in such a short time!
We’re really keen to sign the Time to
Change pledge - so can you let me know
what I need to do to sort this... and if we
could arrange another village as part of
our county show next year... we’d be up
for that...”.
Sarah Fisher, Head of Communications
and Membership, Cornwall Partnership
NHS Foundation Trust
If you want to hear about how these events challenged mental health stigma and discrimination whilst
raising awareness amongst local communities, or you would like more information on how you can
unlock the potential of doing a Time to Change Village in your area please drop us a line at:
village@time-to-change.org.uk
Contact Christopher
Christopher@hillingdonmind.org.uk
Contact Sarah
sarah.fisher10@nhs.net

For more information about the Time to Change Village
please email village@time-to-change-org.uk

Social Contact
Time to Change
15-19 Broadway
London
E15 4BQ
Photography: Matt Dale, Mindy Goose, Edward Jackson, Chris Jepson, Anastacia Tohill,
Keith Winestein, Fiona Wright – thank you.
Introducing the Time to Change Village – Page 28Back

TTC Village Toolkit interactive FINAL v9.2

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