As Mental Health Awareness Week 13-19 May brings the issue to the forefront, Resonance’s Head of Growing Enterprises, Ollie Pollard, examines the challenges facing those dealing with mental health issues every day. He also takes a look at how two social enterprises, one in the South West and one in the West Midlands are working hard to support those who are struggling with mental health problems.

This year’s theme is ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’ and it explores the importance of exercise on our mental wellbeing, offering encouragement to people to help them discover moments of movement in their daily lives. New research from the Mental Health Foundation indicates that financial hardship and inequality prevent far too many individuals from engaging in physical activity and it can have a significant detrimental impact. One of our West Midlands SITR Fund investees, The Challenge Academy, is a social enterprise working to change this.

When I looked at the stats in the West Midlands I was shocked:

• The number of children in contact with mental health services in the Birmingham and Solihull integrated care service area increased from 2,750 in April 2018 to 4,535 in May 2023, 64% higher than five years earlier [1].
• A similar 61% rise was seen in adult mental health service contact between April 2018 and February 2023 [1].
• Threats to mental health do not fall evenly across the population, and people living in deprivation, those with disabilities, minority ethnic groups, LGBT+ and different genders at different ages, suffer much worse mental health outcomes at different ages [1].
• 1.3 million people in the West Midlands do not identify as White British [2], and according to research, some mental health disorders are far more common in minority ethnic communities than they are elsewhere. These higher rates are not seen in majority black countries, indicating that systemic racism could be the case of disproportionately poor mental health conditions [1].
• Birmingham's 46.4% child poverty rate places it as the second-highest concentration of child poverty in the United Kingdom (2021/22) [3]. Poverty among children raises the likelihood of having several negative childhood experiences (such as abuse or neglect), which raises the chance of mental illness [1].
• One third of children, and one in four adults in the West Midlands are doing less than the minimum amount of activity advised for good health [1].

The Challenge Academy encourages meaningful learning and development through outdoor activity programmes. Its programmes promote movement through various activities such as forest skills, bouldering, high ropes and net adventures. It offers activity days to schools and community programmes intending to help vulnerable groups develop teamwork skills and increase their overall mental and physical well-being. 

In 2018, The Challenge Academy received a £150k investment from the Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund. The investment was used to develop their Baggeridge Adventure Site (to offer the activities described already), expand the team that operated it and ultimately to increase the number of people they supported. In the year to 30 September 2023, the Challenge Academy supported around 8,750 people, some of whom have physical/learning disabilities, mental health issues, addiction issues as well as individuals who have difficulty engaging in mainstream education.

Unfortunately, the South West of England faces similar struggles:

• The rate of young people admitted to hospital due to self-harm is 644.7 per 100,000 significantly higher than England’s average of 427.3 [4].
• 14.5% of adults in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly have reported a mental health problem [5].
• 20.6% of children in Bristol aged up to 15 years experience child poverty, growing up in income deprived families. This is significantly higher than the national average of 17.1% [6].
• People in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are the most likely to have experienced a common mental disorder in the last week, across all regions in England, making up 20% of all self-reported mental ill health [5].

Another inspirational social enterprise, this time based in the South West, BF Adventure, is supporting young, disadvantaged people and has been for over thirty years. BF Adventure encourages movement by providing challenging but exciting supported activities including quarry steering, raft building, kayaking, zip wire, abseiling archery and more! These physical activities support young people with mental health issues, behavioural challenges and physical disabilities to gain new skills and confidence, building coping strategies to overcome barriers they might be facing. The organisation received a £150k investment from the Resonance South West SITR Fund in January 2020, and used it to install the South West’s first ‘iron stairway’ – a protected climbing route.

YOU CAN SEE OUR SHORT FILM ABOUT BF ADVENTURE HERE:

According to the Mental Health Foundation, one of the most important things you can do to help protect your mental health is regular movement. The Challenge Academy and BF Adventure are just two of the social enterprises we have worked with that encourage physical activity to improve health and wellbeing. 

Personally, I have been inspired by these great enterprises and Mental Health Awareness Week to do more regular movement – and knowing where to start was greatly helped by reading the Mental Health Foundation’s tips on how to get started HERE – now I’m off to the park to walk the dog with my neighbour!

Find out more about the impact of our SITR Funds HERE.

NOTES

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[1] West Midlands Mental Health Commission 2022-23 Final Report

[2] Race Forward, West Midlands Race Equalities Taskforce Independent Strategy 2023-2028

[3] Action For Children’s Website

[4] Bristol Key Facts 2023 Government Statistics               

[5] House of Commons Library: Mental Health Statistics

[6] JSNA Health and Wellbeing Profile 2023/24