About Centre for Mental Health
Centre for Mental Health has taken the lead for over 30 years in challenging policies, systems and society, so that everyone can have better mental health. They do this by building research evidence to create fairer mental health policy.
Poverty, injustice and discrimination put some people at a much higher risk of poor mental health – but less likely to receive the right support. By developing mental health research, economic analysis and policy ideas, they’re equipping services and decision makers to meet people’s needs and reduce mental health inequalities.
Centre for Mental Health's Challenges
The need for Centre for Mental Health’s work is greater than ever. In the UK we’re facing:
– A sharp rise in rates of mental health problems.
– One in five people living in poverty and experiencing poorer mental health as a consequence.
– A widening life expectancy gap between people with a mental illness and the rest of the population.
The cost of living crisis is also having a profound impact on our mental health and wellbeing, and its effects are most severe in disadvantaged communities. This, combined with strained mental health services and rising demand, is creating a perfect storm for poor mental health in the UK.
Mental health is often overlooked due to societal stigma, historic underinvestment, and under-prioritisation of mental health services. This cannot continue. To combat this, Centre for Mental Health are using their research to campaign for change, and to inform decision makers to create fairer mental health policies and commission better services.
They have no core funding to achieve the work that they do. Instead, they rely on seeking funding from trusts, foundations and government to keep them going project by project. They receive a small pool of donations from the public, but unfortunately this is not nearly substantial enough to rely on.
Centre for Mental Health's Achievements / Goals
Centre for Mental Health creates a national impact both in the short and long term. Examples of some of their achievements include:
• Via their Equally Well campaign, they’ve shown how important it is to help people with long-term physical conditions with their
mental health. They made sure people with mental health problems got fair access to Covid vaccinations during the pandemic and campaigned to get everyone with a mental illness an annual health check with their GP.
• They campaigned successfully to get more mental health help for women during pregnancy or after they’ve had their babies.
• They helped to get mental health on the school curriculum, so every child gets age-appropriate lessons about how to look after their mental health.
• Centre for Mental Health got mental health teams into police stations and courts so that people who need urgent help can be offered it while their case is being dealt with.
• They host a group of 260+ organisations dedicated to improving children’s mental health via the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition. They are about to launch their behaviour in schools inquiry in Parliament.
• They’re working with an amazing group of young Black people who are leading campaigns to improve their mental health via their Young Changemakers programme.
• They recently launched the Mentally Healthier Councils Network to equip councillors with the training and resources to champion mental health in their respective boroughs, counties, or districts.
• Their RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 garden which is being relocated to Markfield Park in Tottenham, where they hope it will become the ‘blueprint’ for other localities to create community-based healing green spaces.
If you would like to become one of Centre for Mental Health’s supporters, you can donate via their website as well as sign up to their monthly newsletter.
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