West Midlands Mayor: Mental health support to help us thrive in life

all credits: Birmingham Irish Association
originally published: 23 July 2023

Life can be stressful. In the wake of the pandemic, and with the pressures of the cost of living, many are feeling the pressures of modern life. Sometimes, we all need a little help.

After all, we all want to live in a mentally healthier West Midlands, in which our children thrive at school, students thrive in college and adults thrive at work and home.

In this column I want to tell you about an important new independent report into our region’s mental health, and the plans we have to address its findings.

Carried out by the region’s second Mental Health Commission, the report looked into the impact of the pandemic. It highlighted a number of areas where more support was needed, from an increase in demand for children’s mental health services to helping people take part in physical activity, which is proven to be good for mental wellbeing.

In response, the West Midlands Combined Authority has decided to expand its brilliant Thrive programme, which has already supported 4,000 people with long-term health issues find and retain jobs, and 550 businesses commit to improving staff wellbeing.

Now a new programme – called Thrive at College – will offer support to 19 to 23-year-olds with mental health and wellbeing while they are at college.

And that’s not all. We have also ringfenced £3 million from the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund’s Community Grant programme for community-led schemes that promote physical activity and wellbeing, and a further £2 million will be used to help grow the region’s social economy, to help create self-sustainable communities.

This action is on top of the work that our partners, some of whom sat on the Commission, are also doing to address mental health in the region. This includes community wellbeing programmes to support people understand and improve their own mental health, tackling poor and overcrowded housing, reducing loneliness and isolation, and bringing people together through community hubs, football and gardening sessions.

Mental health is no longer a subject that people feel awkward speaking about, and after the difficulties of the pandemic, everyone is more aware of the importance of wellbeing.

With investments like this, and with the help of caring communities like Birmingham’s Irish community, we can work together to help ensure everyone has the chance to thrive in life.

More about West Midlands Mental Health Commission: Click here