Mental Health Matters

Summary of the programme

This is a strategic programme that aims to:

• promote the rehabilitation and independence of people with serious mental health problems
• support people at greatest risk of developing serious mental health problems
• support people at greatest risk of suicide.

Under our Mental Health Matters programme we are making £15 million available to support projects across Wales. People with mental health problems are some of the most disadvantaged people in society and they can often experience multiple deprivation.  Many are isolated, and have low self-esteem and low aspirations. Their condition is made worse by the stigma, lack of understanding and discrimination they face daily.

Research shows that the support for people with mental health problems is patchy and underdeveloped and this is recognised in the Adult Mental Health National Service Framework (NSF). Through this programme the Big Lottery Fund will make an important strategic contribution to the development of mental health services and the achievement of the NSF by funding specific groups of people with mental health problems and supporting projects that try to overcome the barriers that they face.

The programme will target people who:

• have serious mental health problems
• are at greatest risk of developing serious mental health problems, and
• are at greatest risk of suicide.

This programme will mainly target working age people between the ages of 16 and 65. It will not specifically support work with children and adolescents, which tends to be delivered in different settings, but we will be flexible about supporting projects that also work with young people at risk of suicide as well as people within our target age group.  Similarly, while the programme is not intended to support older people with degenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, there will be flexibility for projects to work with people over 65 years old with a functional mental illness.

Projects must mainly benefit people living in Wales and we would expect at least 75 per cent of each project’s beneficiaries to live in Wales.

We can fund all or some of the project costs for up to five years, but encourage projects to get some of their funding from other sources.

We will provide revenue funding towards the operating costs of a project and will allow up to five per cent of the grant on capital costs, but this must be no more than £49,999.

You can download the application form and guidance notes from the more information box on the right. The PDF version of the form is for printing out and filling in by hand or you can fill in the RTF version of the form on screen and email it back to mentalhealthmatters@biglotteryfund.org.uk

If you have any queries about this programme, please contact 029 2067 8200 or enquiries.wales@biglotteryfund.org.uk where you can also get a hardcopy of the application form and guidance notes.