Without community, there’s no mental health. We can’t afford to ignore it

At the Mental Health Foundation, we are committed to understanding and improving mental health through our research and programmatic work. We focus on preventative approaches, addressing the root causes of mental ill-health and promoting resilience within communities. We particularly work with people at higher risk of developing mental health problems, including new parents, young people and refugees and asylum seekers. These programmes often include peer support networks and community-based activities to combat loneliness. 

We know that programmes like these can create environments where people feel connected, supported, and empowered to maintain good mental health.

But we and our colleagues in the sector cannot do it alone. The burden of reversing the effects of poor political planning and decision-making should not fall solely on the shoulders of charities or those who live and work in the communities most affected. We need our governments across the UK to step up and take action to tackle the erosion of our communities and support the public’s mental health.    

This isn’t something governments can afford to ignore. Investing in communities isn’t just the right thing to do morally - it’s the smart choice, too. It helps address the root causes of poor mental health, like inadequate housing, lack of opportunities, and social inequality.  

At the Mental Health Foundation, we’ve been calling for a cross-government plan to prevent mental health problems for many years. This was announced – and then dropped again – but the previous government. There is a huge opportunity for the current government to revive this work.  

Such a plan would look at how every government department can play its part in improving the nation’s mental health, moving to a truly preventative system where parts of government as diverse as Work and Pensions, Education and the Home Office are all thinking about what they can do build a mentally healthy society. 

A fundamental part of that is building our communities back up. When people have access to community assets like youth clubs and leisure centres; when they live in decent housing with local amenities; when thought has been given to preventing loneliness, people are both healthier and more productive. Such work needs to include all members of our society, whether that be asylum seekers, homeless people, people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, or other groups who are too often overlooked when we think about community. 

This sort of cross-government approach to rebuilding our communities would support good mental health but also the economy, helping to make a big dent in the £118 billion a year we pay as a country for the consequences of poor mental health.