Southampton City Council is preparing for a consultation on its new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and has been asking community organisations for their ideas. The Council has been listening, and will be undertaking a consultation of their draft strategy soon. Here at Southampton Voluntary Services, we have been putting our thoughts together.
SOUTHAMPTON VOLUNTARY SERVICES’ IDEAS FOR A MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING STRATEGY
These are the issues that Southampton Voluntary Services feels are really important to address within Southampton’s evolving Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This list has been compiled based on our experience of working with community groups and individuals who are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing:
¨ Celebrate and build on what is strong
¨ Communicate about the strengths of individuals and our communities, and where help can be found
¨ Build a sense of community around the approach to mental health and wellbeing
¨ Develop a clear vision based on the values that matter to people in the city, and make the strategy relevant to all
¨ Reflect the issues that matter most to those with lived experience of mental health challenges.
¨ Recognise the role of carers and how individuals support the people they care about in their families and communities
¨ Acknowledge that life can be hard, recognising that emotions and challenges form a part of the human experience, signposting people to support when they feel overwhelmed
¨ Provide tailored and timely specialist support for mental illness
¨ Address the range of barriers that people experience in terms of accessing support
¨ Encourage people to find their own solutions
¨ Work collaboratively to prevent ill health and address inequalities
¨ Recognise and respond to issues of stigma and shame
¨ Address loneliness and isolation
¨ Recognise the complexity of human beings, and that a “one-size fits all” approach won’t work
¨ Encourage collaborative action, making decisions and doing activity together
¨ Link the strategy up with other policy approaches
¨ Link it to established wellbeing approaches, data, research and good practice
¨ Promote shared learning
And most importantly:
¨ We hope the strategy will lead to clear, identifiable improvements in health and care services
¨ Ongoing conversation is important. This position statement is intended to prompt dialogue, because conversation is key to improving lives of those who need services and support. Tell Southampton Voluntary Services and Healthwatch Southampton what you think and how you think we can work well together to improve health and care for all.
You can read our full report here: