Community projects supporting people with their mental health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will benefit from their share of £5 million of additional funding.
- Community projects nationwide set to receive share of £5 million government investment to expand mental health support
- Cash boost will help existing services respond to global pandemic and protect nation’s wellbeing
- Funding to be delivered by mental health charity Mind
Community projects supporting people with their mental health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are set to benefit from their share of £5 million of additional funding, Mental Health Minister Nadine Dorries has announced today.
Voluntary organisations from across the country – such as local Mind organisations, Ambitious about Autism, Support After Rape and Sexual Violence, LGBT Foundation and Campaign Against Living Miserably – will receive a financial boost to expand their existing support services.
This fund is administered by Mind as part of the Mental Health Consortia, made up of Mind, the Association of Mental Health Providers, Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, the National Survivor User Network and Rethink Mental Illness.
Mental Health Minister Nadine Dorries said:
“This epidemic has had huge consequences for us all, but for some it has been especially difficult, leading to loneliness, anxiety and other mental health challenges.
“I believe we must pull together as a nation during these trying times and I am absolutely determined that no one should have to cope with mental illness alone.
“While our NHS remains open for business and has adapted its care to continue to provide vital mental health care throughout the crisis, this investment will only strengthen what’s on offer and ensure emotional support sits at the heart of the community.”
The local charities benefiting include a wide range of support services including:
- a Leicester-based women’s centre supporting vulnerable women from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities who may be elderly, at risk of domestic violence or living in poverty
- a national charity offering online peer sessions to young autistic people to protect their emotional wellbeing throughout the outbreak
- a Coventry-based support service offering therapy to the families of children affected by cancer across Warwickshire
- a LGBT Talking Therapies Programme in the Greater Manchester area, which is providing counselling services to people from their own homes during the lockdown period and beyond
This marks the first round of funding to be allocated to the sector, with a second wave of projects to receive funding shortly.
This funding package follows the £4.2 million investment announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock for mental health charities – such as Samaritans, YoungMinds and Bipolar UK – during Mental Health Awareness Week, so they can continue to support people experiencing mental health challenges.
Chief Executive of Mind Paul Farmer said:
“It’s important that Mind, working closely with our colleagues in the Mental Health Consortia, have been able to quickly promote, assess and award much-needed funds to charities providing frontline mental health support in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. We were inundated with applications for the fund, showing just how much the support is needed.
“The coronavirus pandemic is impacting all of us, but is especially hard on those of us living with a mental health problem. The recipients of this much-needed fund are doing incredible work to support those who need them most, both on a national scale and in the community, and the money granted will help them continue to work in innovative ways.
“There’s still far more to be done, and we look forward to continuing to work together to help combat the mental health emergency we find ourselves in as we fund more organisations across England.”
