Member

In Sheffield, we are proud to be one of six national pilot areas for the neighbourhood mental health centres scheme, providing round-the-clock access to local joined-up care. But if these ambitions are to work, they must be matched by real investment, not only in our hospitals and clinical teams but in the voluntary and community sector that so often holds the system together. The community organisations, peer-support groups, faith networks, youth workers and cultural centres are the glue that keep people well between their appointments. They offer culturally competent, person-centred care, reach those whom statutory services often miss, and rebuild trust where the system has failed. Yet too many of these groups are stretched to breaking point, expected to do more with less to fill the gaps left by underfunded public services.