In 2022, 75% of frontline workers described accessing mental health support for people they worked with as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’.

In 2022, 75% of frontline workers described accessing mental health support for people they worked with as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity funds Platfform’s Community Coaching in Cardiff and Newport, a one-to-one coaching support project for people transitioning from two 24-hour staffed mental health crisis houses, back into the community. The project will provide follow on support for people after a mental health crisis who are often returning to the same circumstances they left. 

WHY THE PROJECT IS SO IMPORTANT

WHY THE PROJECT IS SO IMPORTANT

Platfform was born in 2019 from Gofal, a mental health charity established in Wales in the late 1980s. Through decades of working across housing and mental health, the organisation gained real insight into the reality of mental health in society, the impact of trauma, and the causes of distress. Their purpose is to change the narrative around mental health and make our public systems work better for people facing the toughest times.

Nearly 4 in 10 Welsh households cannot afford anything beyond essential everyday items. Wales has the highest levels of child poverty in the UK.

Constantly being denied the things we need and feeling we do not belong can lead to anxiety, depression and other mental health problems, resulting in people in the most traumatised communities in Wales dying two decades earlier compared to affluent communities. The impact of this health inequity is costing NHS Wales an additional £322 million per year, and accounts for 8.7% of Wales’ total NHS hospital expenditure. And, the closure of the coal, steel and iron industries, followed by rural isolation, has left a legacy of long-term unemployment, poor health, and high rates of poverty within communities that were once flourishing.

This is why Platfform’s work, aiming to improve mental health in Wales by using a holistic approach, is so vital.

THE SUPPORT PLATFFORM’S COMMUNITY COACHING PROVIDES

THE SUPPORT PLATFFORM’S COMMUNITY COACHING PROVIDES
  • St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity’s funds a Community Coach to work alongside two of Platfform’s Crisis House Projects. The coach will support people transitioning from 24 hour, staff mental health crisis housing back into the community.
  • Platfform’s Crisis Houses are the only accommodation of their kind in Wales, and accommodate up to nine people per night. They offer a place of safety for people who are suffering a mental health crisis, providing compassionate, trauma-informed support.
  • Platfform has received feedback that follow-up support is hugely beneficial, as going home often means returning to the same circumstances, such as family dynamics, rent arrears, substance misuse, or disrepair. Support during this time is vital in preventing people from further mental health crises.
  • The coach will support people to maintain stability after leaving, including ensuring people have a smooth transition into stable accommodation if people are faced with homelessness.
  • The coach works with people while they are preparing to leave, and continues to work with them afterwards, to build on the progress they’ve made and attempt to prevent any repeat crises.

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