People who've used a Mind service

We’re always looking for people who've been supported by Mind, to help us raise awareness of our services and reach people who might need our support. Please get in touch if you've:

• Called Mind’s Infoline, Welfare benefits or Legal line for advice
• Used Mind’s Side by Side community

Money, benefits and mental health

Since summer 2021, Mind’s Infoline has seen a 40% rise in calls from people dealing with problems with money, unemployment and benefits.

Callers are telling us they feel on edge about their finances, and they're worried about paying bills. To help highlight the issue, we’re keen to hear from people who:

• Are in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and want to share their thoughts on the UK Governments proposed changes to the benefits system
• Had to resign from their job after becoming unwell because they weren’t eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), their SSP didn’t cover basic living costs, or it didn’t cover them for the length of time they needed off sick due to their mental health

People of colour

We know that people of colour face disproportionate mental health challenges because of systemic racism. Our own research tells us that people of colour have also been among the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Mind are working hard to support and represent more people of colour to share their stories. We need to genuinely speak up and stand up for communities that have been historically under-represented in our work.

We'd like to hear from anyone experiencing a mental health problem who identifies as being from a racialised community. And we'd particularly like to hear from:

• People who have experienced racial trauma which has impacted their mental health
• Young Black men (aged between 18-30 years old)

Support for young people

It’s vital that young people have access to the right mental health support. However, we know too often young people can’t get help for mental health when they need it, and find that the kind of support they need either doesn’t exist or isn’t delivered in a space they feel comfortable talking about their mental health.

We’re keen to hear from anyone aged 18-25 who has:

• Struggled to access mental health support – this could be through school, the NHS or somewhere else
• Had to wait more than a year for support
• Struggled to find or afford specific mental health support to suit their needs for example, because of their background or diagnosis
• Accessed mental health support somewhere other than school or the NHS

People in Wales

We need your help to highlight the challenges people living with mental health problems are facing in Wales. We’d like to speak to anyone living in Wales who has:

• Lived experience of a mental health problem
• Accessed mental health services in Wales
• Had difficulty accessing the right mental health support in Wales