Care Wish are looking to develop specialist supported living services for people with mental ill health are here is why:

“Mental health presents one of the greatest challenges that current and future generations will face. In health, economic and social terms, the burden created by mental health problems and mental illness in the UK is immense and growing. Mental health should be a concern for us all because it affects us all. On an individual level, mental health problems affect our ability to function day to day and our overall quality of life. When you consider such problems collectively, the effect on society is considerable. We need to find out how to turn the tide or future generations will be still further affected by mental ill health. Mental health and well-being are not nearly as well understood as other areas of health. We are not giving mental health the attention demanded by its impact on society. As a developed country, we could do better. We need to understand the balance of factors that both promote mental health and support the recovery of people with mental health problems. We need to acknowledge that the way we live and the decisions we make across all areas of policy have a profound impact on our collective mental health. The Fundamental Facts will help contribute to that understanding”.

– David Brindle Public Services Editor, The Guardian.

Care Wish want to support people with mental ill health because:

Social isolation is a factor in mental health problems. 20% of people with common mental health problems live alone, compared with 16% of the overall population.

• A person with a severe mental health problem is four times more likely than average to have no close friends.
• 1 in 4 people using mental health services has no contact with their family, and 1 in 3 has no contact with friends.
• Low levels of social support can reduce the likelihood of recovery – in one study 54% of women and 51% of men with mental health problems and good social support recovered over an 18 month period, compared with 35% of women and 36% of men with a severe lack of social support.
• People with a common mental health problem are twice as likely to be separated or divorced as their mentally healthy counterparts (14%, compared with 7%) and are more than twice as likely to be single parents as those without a mental health problem (9%, compared with 4%).
• Between a third and two thirds of children whose parents have mental health problems will develop problems either in childhood or adult life.
  Children of depressed parents have a 50% risk of developing depression themselves before the age of 20.
• Almost half of children in care have a mental health problem. Children in care are 4 to 5 times as likely to have a mental health problem as other children.
• Taking part in social activities, sport and exercise is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction. For example, 76% of those who play sport or exercise at least once a week are satisfied, compared with 70% of those who never or rarely play sport or exercise.
• Other social and economic risk factors for mental health problems include: poor transport, neighbourhood disorganisation and racial discrimination. Social and economic protective factors for mental health include: community empowerment and integration, provision of social services, tolerance, and strong community networks.

Care Wish, care and wish to help.