12 May 2025
By Claire Webster, SCIE Practice Development Consultant
Mental Health Awareness week takes place 12th to 18th May, and the theme is community.
While we acknowledge that mental health awareness should be talked about all the time, I wanted to share a few words to mark something we feel very strongly about at SCIE; that communities are where you will see the biggest impacts happen, in mental health.
A quote from Eleanor Roosevelt often comes to mind – “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighbourhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works”
She speaks of the importance of applying human rights everywhere. I see this as a wider reflection, that the most impact often happens in the small, often unheard of / unknown places.
For example, local groups. My colleagues and I are involved in groups outside the workplace, many of them centred around sports and fitness. It’s a longstanding recommendation ‘to keep active’, but the groups are much more than that, they are connection and belonging, bringing people together for a common interest and often creating spaces for more meaningful conversations, support and friendships.
This, to me, is a key consideration in applying the Care Act’s wellbeing principles that relates to social and economic wellbeing and contribution to society and supporting people to connect with opportunities where they live.
Supporting early intervention and tackling inequality
People also often associate mental health support with psychiatrists, psychologists and hospitals. Some of the most impactful mental health support starts before this, in local, primary and community arrangements. I’ve seen incredible work from mental health nurses based at GP surgeries, talking therapies, mental health hubs, schools (to name a few).
It’s also important to recognise that local, small, community support is likely to have better knowledge and connection with groups who often face inequities in accessing mental health support, including black people, autistic people and people with learning disabilities.
Early mental health, help, is not just good to have, it’s vital, people don’t want to turn up at A&E to access mental health support, it is not a therapeutic or inclusive environment, it needs to be available where people live, in places they feel safe to walk into or pick up a phone to – in the small places close to home.
This is a thread that drives our work with integrated care systems in addressing inequalities in mental health support, and supporting them to identify and implement solutions that improve health and social care, for people drawing on (or trying to draw on) mental health support.
As we look to the future, SCIE remains dedicated to creating spaces where diverse voices are not only welcomed but drive change—ensuring our work continues to reflect the needs and strengths of the communities we serve.
To learn more about how you can get involved in this year’s Mental Health Awareness week, please see the Mental Health Foundation website.
