Poverty and Mental Health
Workshop Leaders: Lesley Faithful – Sheffield Mental Health CAB; Graham Cockshutt – User Support & Employment Project
This workshop looked at some of the barriers to employment for people with mental health problems and called for more educations in the workplace to combat stigma and loss of confidence associated with long-term mental health problems. Arrangements should be made to ensure that employment arrangements are flexible.
The benefits system was often a barrier to people getting back into employment, there are things people can do to dip their toes back into employment without loss of benefits, but, above all, people need accurate advice.
It was also recognised that there was an issue of racism around mental health issues, with people from black and minority ethnic communities with mental health problems experiencing much higher rates of incarceration.