The Scottish Government has announced that it is committing additional investment to projects improving mental health and wellbeing across adults and young people.
Two funds – the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults and the Children and Young People’s Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Supports – will benefit from £15 million each over the course of 2024-25.
Adult funding focuses on how grass roots community groups can tackle social isolation, loneliness, and mental health inequality, as well as building resilience. This is done by bringing people together and offering peer support to those at risk of poor mental health and loneliness. Activities that are available include sport, outdoor activities, and the arts.
Support for children and young people began in 2020, with the original aim of reducing the impact of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions on people’s mental health. Thanks to the new funding, more than £65 million has been committed to support local authorities as they deliver community-based mental health support. Help for those aged between five and 24-years old include mentoring, art-based therapies, digital services, counselling, family support and physical activity.
Commented on the funding, First Minister Humza Yousaf said:
“One becoming First Minister I reiterated my personal commitment to supporting those living with mental health challenges. We know how important it is for our society to have access to mental health and wellbeing support. That is why my government is committed to ensuring we fund vital services in our health service and in community settings to ensure we try, as much as possible, to provide a national network of community support for adults, children, and young people.
“This further £30 million will fund community-based projects which are focused on prevention and early intervention, and this is a significant step forward in supporting people’s mental health and wellbeing by making sure they can easily access the help they need, when and where they need it.
“Since 2020 the Scottish Government has invested over £100 million in community-based mental health support. An independent evaluation published last year shows that projects for adults have lowered social isolation thereby alleviating some of the negative mental and physical health impacts from the pandemic, as well as providing support and self-help for individuals with mental health issues.
“More than 300 children and young people’s supports and services are in now in place across the country, and evaluation published by the Scottish Youth Parliament found that nearly three-quarters of young people agreed or strongly agreed that they received support when they needed it.”
Image credit: iStock
