New briefing explores role community groups play in tackling Scotland's mental health crisis
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 6th August
New briefing explores role community groups play in tackling Scotland's mental health crisis
In a new briefing, CHEX has explored the contribution of community-led health organisations and approaches in growing positive mental health and wellbeing.
Through a series of interviews, practitioners shared their insights about Scotland's 'mental health crisis', fuelled by the ongoing impacts of the pandemic which added pressure on people already facing poverty, discrimination, and oppression.
These external factors create a ‘feedback loop’ between people's material circumstances and poor mental health:
“People who are disabled and those that face other challenges [...] withdraw and they don't have the same access to opportunities, which exacerbates the poverty, which exacerbates the exclusion and the difficulty of paying bills, which then exacerbates the mental health.” (Public health consultant in mental health)
Pressure on services
This increased demand has led to increased pressure of services, many of which are already strained due a lack of resource and staffing - an issue made worse by people requiring greater and more complex levels of support.
A ‘post code lottery’, growing waiting lists, delayed diagnoses, and more stringent assessment criteria mean support for people can be limited.
“Support from the Start and all these sort of initiatives [...] were starting to have an effect […] but that's all fallen by the wayside." (Manager of community-led mental health project)
Pressure on community groups
This pressure is acutely felt by community organisations who, in the words of one person, are being left to "plug the gaps" from public sector mental health services.
These organisations are facing an increasingly complex set of needs, supporting people who aren't receiving support they need elsewhere. Groups are also facing challenges around securing funding to keep their doors open:
“We're OK at the moment, but if you'd asked me in February this year, you might have seen me crying." (Manager of community-led mental health project)
The value of community-led approaches
What has been clear from speaking to these practitioners is the value of the preventative, early-intervention approaches that community-led health delivers. Speaking of their members, one local mental health charity work said:
"They feel heard, they feel valued, it builds their confidence or motivation. And it's nothing other than coming together once a week, time out, having a laugh, having a bit of fun, having a cup of tea."
Stepping through the doors of the community-led organisations we visited, it's clear the wider, holistic approach is what can make the difference to people’s lives.
Read the full briefing here and subscribe to CHEX-Point Snippets.
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