Mental Health Innovations’ Post

‘The impact of the cost of living crisis on mental health’, by Dr Fiona Pienaar, looks at the literature around the impact of financial stress and poverty on the mental health of people across the nation. This literature review forms the next phase of our work with hashtag #AvivaFoundation, Aviva to support those in the UK with their mental health in the wake of the cost of living crisis. We’re also partnering with PayPlan, a leading provider of debt advice in the UK, to extend Shout UK's reach among those struggling with financial issues and to signpost texters with debt concerns to PayPlan’s free services. Emma Gibbons, PayPlan’s Vulnerability Lead said: “We are excited to work with the Aviva Foundation to promote Shout. Since Shout’s launch in 2019 they have taken 2.5 million text conversations with 830,000 individuals in distress. By collaborating, we will be combining our expertise in debt advice with their platform reach to help more individuals in need. We look forward to seeing the positive effects this joint initiative will bring, offering 24/7 mental health support via SMS to those in need.”

After a dramatic increase in the cost of living since 2021, the Shout service has seen a rise in the number of people texting in with issues related to cost of living. Our report into the toll money worries are having on mental health found that in over a third of conversations related to the cost of living crisis, Shout texters talked about the deep sense of loneliness they were feeling. Some texters felt they had no one to turn to for support and financial advice. Others felt embarrassed and ashamed to talk about their finances with friends and relatives, many of whom referred to Shout as their outlet to vent and offload their anxious thoughts and feelings. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/enhHePH4 With thanks to our partners and funders Aviva Foundation (Aviva), Cadent Gas Limited and IE Hub for their support which allows us to continue our vital work.

We're so pleased to be reaching farmers and ensuring they have access to much needed mental health support thanks to our new partnership with Hawkstone 🙌

We were delighted to welcome employees from our partner, Selfridges, into our offices on Tuesday to showcase the work of our community of volunteers. The team helped us with a volunteer engagement exercise, before taking part in a well-being workshop with our Head of Research Psychology Dr Ariele Noble. Thank you to everyone who attended, and a huge thank you to Selfridges for your continued support! If your organisation would be interested in working with us, find out more about what that could look like here: https://lnkd.in/eesF7ygz

We are excited to announce that we are taking the move to merge our partner charity The Mix, with Mental Health Innovations, in order to strengthen our early intervention offer for young people. It has always been our charity’s ambition to expand the reach of support we can give to people across the UK through provision of digital products and services and this merger is an important and significant step towards delivery of our mission. The Mix Charity is a digital charity for under 25s, with whom we’ve partnered since Shout UK’s launch in 2018. They provide a holistic service of free advice, information and support, reaching over five million young people online each year via social media, web content, peer support and counselling services. They deliver their work with the help of experts and more than 1,000 young people in co-design, volunteering and governance roles. Mental Health Innovations’ pathway for young people will expand to focus on early intervention through an online support community, discussion boards and online resources, augmenting Shout’s 24/7 text messaging support, which operates for people of all ages. We will be able to offer more volunteering opportunities that enable young people to directly contribute to supporting their peers. We also plan to develop a series of exciting new products including self-paced learning modules, single-session counselling interventions, growth of the chatbot offering and peer led 121 interventions. These will be co-created with our community of young people. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eq7JfzU8

We're thrilled to have been part of the Bank of England auction of new #KingCharlesIII banknotes, where an incredible £91,412 was raised for Shout UK. This can enable us to take 9,141 potentially life-saving conversations with anyone in need of urgent support with their mental health. Huge thanks go to both the Bank of England and to everyone who took part in the auction for your generous support!

Between Monday 9 September to Friday 11 October, we are offering the opportunity to hear from Mental Health Innovations’ Dr Ariele Noble, chartered psychologist, training specialist and executive coach, in a thought-provoking 45-minute webinar. Dr Noble will cover what being suicidal means, what mental health is and isn't, how to better support one another, and what people in distress need. She will provide engaging and thought provoking explanations, share innovative ideas and targeted exercises. For a charitable donation of £550, Dr Noble will deliver the session to your organisation. To enquire, email [email protected]

We're delighted to welcome two new funders of our Shout UK service: Heart of Bucks, who recently awarded us a £10,000 grant towards Shout conversations in Buckinghamshire, and The James Tudor Foundation who awarded us a £10,000 grant towards Shout conversations nationwide. We'd like to say a heartfelt thanks from all of us at Mental Health Innovations to these new funders for their generous support, which helps us to be there for more texters like this one. The demand for mental health support is growing in the UK. If your organisation can help fund the work we do, please email [email protected]