What did Londoners say about mental health?

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The Mental Health Foundation has been instrumental in bringing the ‘Thrive’ approach of tackling the causes of mental ill-health in cities to the UK.

Today, the Foundation, in partnership with Thrive LDN, launches the Londoners Said report, distilling over 1000 conversations about what would better support people in the capital to live happier, healthier lives.

This marks a great step forward in our efforts to truly involve citizens in decision-making about how communities can work better for everyone.

It is an approach the Foundation is also working with others across the UK on including a formal partnership with Thrive West Midlands.

In July 2017, London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched Thrive LDN to improve the ‘health and happiness’ of Londoners by addressing the causes of mental ill-health.

We were commissioned to map London boroughs according to a number of factors that indicated the level of mental health inequalities in that area. The research was subsequently published in Lancet Psychiatry.

Prioritising the boroughs most in need the Foundation and Thrive LDN then designed and delivered a series of community conversations bringing together residents, service providers, commissioners, charities and businesses.

In all, we held 17 of these conversations in half of all the London boroughs with over 1000 Londoners, who told us how we could best work together to deliver Thrive LDN’s six aspirations, which had been co-produced with London citizens and experts.

Thrive LDN aspirations:

• A city where individuals and communities take the lead
• A city free from mental health stigma and discrimination
• A city that maximises the potential of children and young people
• A city with a happy, healthy and productive workforce
• A city with services that are there when, and where needed
• A zero suicide city

The solutions those Londoners came up with share common themes – namely, to spread knowledge, skills and support so that people can better look after themselves and their neighbours.

Londoners said recommendations

1. Develop, train and support a network of community champions to tackle isolation, link people to each other and services and deliver community mental health training.
2. Create, or add on to existing technological platforms, a way of effectively informing people about what support, activities and services are available in their community.
3. Produce a guide linking and integrating London mental health and other services, like social care and housing support, to create a whole-person approach.
4. Support the development of non-clinical crisis and other well-being centres, like Mosaic Clubhouses and the Leeds Crisis House.
5. Give parents, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds, the skills and support they need to give their children the best start through peer-parenting groups.
6. Create a mental health curriculum for schools that focuses on prevention rather than diagnosis of illnesses and that recognises the diversity of London’s children.
7. Invest in after-school clubs that support young people to look after their mental health, develop better decision-making processes and meet role models.
8. Provide a toolkit and training for employers enabling them to better support the mental health of London workers.
9. Work in local communities to prevent isolation and build connections as a first step in suicide prevention.
10. Encourage the 16 London boroughs and the City of London who have not yet had a community conversations to organise one.

If you are feeling like ending your life or feel unable to keep yourself safe, please call 999 or go to A&E and ask for the contact of the nearest crisis resolution team. These are teams of mental health care professionals who work with people in severe distress. If you feel affected by the content you have read, please see our get help page for support.