As the nights draw in and get longer, when Christmas displays seem to arrive earlier and earlier, it may come as no surprise to learn from a recent YouGov poll that 74% of UK citizens admit to feeling chronically stressed and overwhelmed during the festive season. The Christmas holiday fills many with dread but especially for anyone struggling with loneliness and/or poor mental health, this holiday is anything but jolly.

Cricklewood based charity, Ashford Place, has joined forces with Hendon Football Club in launching an important new community based initiative: Christmas Connections, aimed at connecting the most vulnerable back into their community over the festive period.

Christmas connections is a new, cross-community scheme designed to encourage a network of support for those who, regardless of faith or ethnic background, find coping over the Christmas Season a severe challenge and who are, indeed, at serious risk.

Emphasising a spirit of togetherness, from which many people with mental illness and social isolation can feel so alienated and excluded, Christmas Connections invites and inspires individuals, communities and businesses to draw on a variety of resources to pledge vital support - ranging from the simple act of sending someone a card, to organising group Christmas dinners, to making a phone call to someone you know who will be alone. At its most basic level, it's an initiative that provides an opportunity for the disconnected among us to reconnect.

As Ashford Place CEO, Danny Maher, explains,"Christmas Connections has the potential to help lots of people have a good Christmas this year. Put someone new on your Christmas list and help them enjoy the festive season"

Simon Lawrence (Hendon FC Chairman) said "Hendon Football Club and Silver Jubilee Park are delighted to partner with Ashford Place by pledging our support for Christmas Connections. With everyone at Silver Jubilee Park committed to helping improve mental health and combat loneliness within the local community we are fully aware how difficult the festive season can be for people of all faiths, this initiative by Ashford Place is one that we are delighted to be involved with."

We will have details of how you can pledge support within the next week or so. Please keep checking for updates on the website and through social media.