Charity Mind has appointed Medialab as its media partner for growth as the organisation gears up to tackle the mental health emergency which has been triggered by the Covid pandemic.
The appointment follows a Mind survey of more than over 16,000 people during the first lockdown, which found that over half of adults and two thirds of young people said their mental health had deteriorated during the pandemic while many developed problems for the first time.
However, a fifth of adults who tried to access support were unable to do so and when asked why, many said they were deterred from asking for help from the NHS because they did not feel their problem was important enough. As a result, many people have tried to access support through alternative routes, like the voluntary sector.
Against this backdrop, Mind’s services, such as its Infoline, information resources and online peer support platform Side by Side, are in demand more than ever. Such growth in demand necessitates an increased drive in fundraising and with Medialab appointed to help the charity achieve its ambitious objectives.
The agency will support Mind in facilitating growth, and realising its vision to ensure that everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets both support and respect.
Medialab has established charitable expertise, working with 30 organisations including RNLI, Guide Dogs, and British Red Cross, and supports the mental health of its community through their internal network of Mental Health First Aiders.
Mind head of media and PR Alex Bushill said: “Right now, more people are turning to Mind than ever. Working with Medialab across our key products and campaigns will help us to reach even more people with the services and resources they need to support their mental health at this critical time.
“Selecting an agency whose values align with our own was really important to us. Medialab is committed to supporting workplace wellbeing and creating an open culture around mental health. From offering practical tools like Wellness Actions Plans, Mental Health First Aid training and wellbeing webinars, to free yoga sessions and protected lunch hours – it’s fantastic to see that Medialab takes its responsibility to support the mental health of its employees seriously.”
Medialab chief executive Marcus Orme added: “Mental health has become a pandemic which touches us all; our families, friends, colleagues. It is therefore a real privilege to be given the chance to work with such an amazing organisation like Mind so we can play some small part in continuing to take mental health mainstream, making support ever more accessible for those in need.”
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