Apply for a UK Grant

Step 2 of 3:  UK Programmes 


Mental Health

  1. 1. Background

    • Mental health problems affect one in four people at some point in their lives.
    • As well as dealing with the impact of living with mental ill-health, many people also have to cope with stigma, discrimination and social exclusion, and can find it hard to get their voices heard in the decisions which affect their lives.

    Too many people continue to have little say in their treatment or the services they need. Comic Relief has had a long history of helping people get their voices heard and promote a fairer society, and since 2005 mental health has become a key focus of our work.

  2. 2. Aim of the Programme

    This programme aims to promote the rights and support the recovery of people who have mental health problems, and to help them feel more included in society. It also aims to reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems.

    We believe that change will be most effective and sustainable if organisations working in this field are led by those with direct experience of mental ill health. We recognise that some groups may not currently be user led, but we will want to see organisations moving towards this over the lifetime of their grant.

    Within this user led ethos, we want to support work which helps people get the services they need and their voices heard. This might be through individual or collective advocacy, user groups, peer support or campaigning for example. We also want to support work which aims to reduce stigma and discrimination.

  3. 3. Outcomes

    The organisations we fund will need to show how their work will help deliver one or more of the following outcomes:

    • Greater involvement of people who have mental health problems in decisions that affect their lives
    • A reduction in stigma and discrimination, and a positive change in people’s attitudes towards mental health
    • More inclusive and accessible mental health services and organisations, in particular for people from black and minority ethnic communities

  4. 4. Who will we fund

    This programme has a strong user-led ethos. By this, we mean that projects will need to show how people with direct experience of mental ill health are actively and meaningfully involved in and leading the work. In most cases, we will look for a majority of people with direct experience to make up the trustee board or governing body. Where this is not the case, we will seek a firm commitment to involving users in the running of the project and where appropriate, want to see a move towards becoming a user-led organisation.

    We encourage applications using a variety of approaches including advocacy, the development of social enterprises, user or peer support groups and campaigning activities – although these are examples only and we will consider any work which meets the aims and outcomes above.

    We are especially keen to support work which addresses the needs and rights of people from communities who are often overlooked, such as those from Black and minority ethnic communities or older people.

  5. 5. Other Important Information

    The focus of this programme is to ensure people get access to the services they need, their rights are recognised and their voices heard. It also aims to reduce stigma and discrimination. We will therefore not usually fund core service delivery, such as therapeutic interventions. In addition, we will only fund other types of projects such as employment initiatives if they are run by people with direct experience of mental health problems.