North Staffs Green Party have joined mental health
charity MIND in calling on the government to invest in community support for
mental health.
The call comes as the charity publishes its Together
Through Tough Times report [1] on the power of strong communities to
support good mental wellbeing written in partnership with the Scottish
Association for Mental Health, social justice charity Inspire, and the Co-op.
In the forward to the report MIND and their partners
say it is well known that strong communities ‘play a key role
in supporting wellbeing, social connection and empowerment to increase people’s
resilience – the ability to cope with the ups and downs of life. We wanted to
explore how this was manifesting in communities experiencing
higher-than-expected wellbeing outcomes based on indicators such as
deprivation’.
They
go on to say it is their hope that the findings will shed ‘new light on the crucial
factors that contribute to community resilience. It also grows our
understanding of the link between resilient communities and mental wellbeing –
whether that’s about maintaining and improving overall mental wellbeing or
creating safe and supportive environments for people to access support for
their mental health’.
This,
they hope will ‘will shape brand new resilience-based community services and
underpin advocacy and campaigning work to secure lasting impact as a result of
this partnership’.
The report
found that four key factors underpin strong communities when it comes to
promoting and maintaining good mental wellbeing. These are a strong sense of
identity and belonging, actively making connections within communities, having
an open and supportive environment in which to talk about mental health and the
existence of community hubs to bring together the community, health services
and the voluntary sector.
Amongst
its recommendations the report calls for improved funding for promoting mental
wellbeing and more support for groups delivering or supporting services on the
ground. The report also calls for an overhaul of mental health support for
children and young people.
One in
four adults in the UK report experiencing a mental health condition every year.
In any given week 3 in 100 people will report experiencing depression; 8 in 100
mixed anxiety and depression; and 2 in 100 having phobias. Women are more
likely to report having suicidal thoughts, but men are more likely to act on such
thoughts if they have them.
The
number of people reporting mental health problems rose by 20% between 1993 and
2014, suicide rates have also risen sharply since 2018, particularly amongst
men aged under 25. Reported levels of self-harm are also on the rise.
Despite
the alarming rise in the number of people reporting mental health problems only
1 in 8 are receiving treatment of any kind, predominantly psychiatric
medication [2].
The
pandemic has made an already bad situation considerably worse The Royal College
of Psychiatrists has highlighted a sharp rise in adults and young people
seeking support for their mental health since March 2020. Young people have
been particularly badly affected with 80,226 people under 18 being referred to
NHS mental health services in England alone between April and December 2020
than in the same period during 2019.
Speaking
to the Guardian in April Adrian James, the president of the college said “The
extent of the mental health crisis is terrifying, but it will likely get a lot
worse before it gets better. Services are at a very real risk of being overrun
by the sheer volume of people needing help [3]”.
North
Staffs Green Party have written to Gillian Keegan, the Minister of State for
Care and Mental Health [4], calling on the government to adopt the
recommendations made in the report.
In the
letter they say ‘The UK has been
through some of the most difficult times in living memory over the past
eighteen months. Unsurprisingly this has had a serious impact on our collective
mental wellbeing, the government must now act to make promoting good mental
health central to its strategy for rebuilding our economy and society’.
A spokesperson said “the impact of the tough times we
have all lived through on communities and individuals is painfully clear. The
government must now take action to make building resilient communities that
promote good mental wellbeing central to its recovery strategy”.
[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/people/gillian-keegan
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