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Caring about customers’ mental well-being
As the charity Mind publishes damning research showing a deterioration in the mental health of social tenants, David Thackwray outlines some of the things associations can do to help
Freshly analysed data from the charity Mind shows that more than two in five people with mental health problems living in social housing have seen their mental health deteriorate as a result of where they live.
One in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives.
In terms of Home Group’s customer base in general needs – not supported – housing, you could say that around 30,000 of our 116,000 customers are likely to have been affected at some point. That’s why we take this seriously.
For many housing associations, they have always, and continue to, provide specialist housing and support to customers with diagnosed mental health issues.
“We recognised two years ago that our short term interventions for people with mental health illnesses weren’t enough.”
Housing can create a better environment, but it’s the care and specialist support that has to be jointly delivered across housing, health and care that makes the difference.
In Home Group, we recognised two years ago that our short-term interventions for people with mental health illnesses weren’t enough.
We are focused on fusing the right housing and the right environment with the appropriate level of care and support.
We have refocused our supported housing and increased the number of our new homes that are focused on long-term support for customers who need the right environment to ensure better health – both physical and mental.
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But what about our general needs customers, our tenants who suffer from poor mental health but who aren’t in receipt of specialist support?
We challenge ourselves to do more than the minimum required under the Decent Homes Standard.
We want our customers to have a home where they feel comfortable, and physically and emotionally safe and secure.
We have also done a lot of work on how to help our customers if they are struggling, including deferring payments and re-payment schemes, and building strong links with external agencies to make sure our customers have correct, impartial advice on all matters.
As an organisation, Home Group recently signed Natasha Devon MBE’s ‘Where’s your head at?’ petition, calling for parliament to make it a legal requirement for all workplaces to have the same number of Mental Health First Aiders as physical.
We have committed to ensuring all colleagues across our organisation have access to relevant and appropriate mental health learning, and to reviewing the number of Mental Health First Aiders we have nationally. You can read about and sign the petition here.
We have also signed a pledge with the Time To Change initiative, and will soon be asking colleagues to become ‘Time To Change Champions’ – working with us as an organisation to make mental health a normal topic of conversation, dispelling myths, and making it easier for our customers to seek support if and when they need it.
Our customers are involved in shaping the future of Home Group – our innovative Human Library is a diverse national group of customers and colleagues who identify with different diversity groups, including those with mental health problems and disabilities.
“We want Home Group to be a psychologically safe place, for our colleagues and our customers.”
Human Library members share their stories and experiences at ‘Life Swap’ events, but also use their experiences to help shape our policies and services.
We want Home Group to be a psychologically safe place, for our colleagues and our customers.
We recognise that everyone is affected by mental health, in the same way everyone is affected by physical health.
From the review of our learning offer for colleagues, to the signing of petitions and pledges, our customers should know that they live in a home provided by an organisation which genuinely cares about their physical and mental well-being.
Dave Thackwray, learning and development business partner, Home Group
