Covid-19 has put extra pressure on many people’s mental health, and charities that provide helplines or support have reported increasing demands for help. Mental health organisations have had to quickly adapt their services to meet these needs and find ways of meeting additional demand with reduced resources. Charities that do not provide direct support have also been working hard to highlight the mental health impact of the pandemic and ensure people with mental health difficulties are considered in Government policy at every turn.
This short briefing summarises the activities of a group of seventeen national mental health organisations that have been working together to respond to the Covid-19 crisis in England since March 2020. The report outlines the ways in which our organisations have sought to understand and act on the mental health impacts and implications of Covid-19, the issues that we are all concerned about, and the steps each organisation is taking to support people’s mental health during the crisis.
The charities involved are:
- The Anna Freud Centre
- The Association of Mental Health Providers
- Centre for Mental Health
- City Mental Health Alliance
- The Helplines Partnership
- Mental Health Foundation
- Mental Health Innovations
- The Mental Health Network of the NHS Confederation
- Mental Health UK
- Mind
- The Mix
- National Survivor User Network
- Place2Be
- Rethink Mental Illness
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Samaritans
- Student Minds
- YoungMinds
