A VISION to improve the health of people in the region has been unveiled by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The second Mental health Commission was started to gather evidence into the impact of the pandemic on mental health and wellbeing and to draw up collective actions to be taken regionally in response to them.
The plan is aimed at ensuring residents thrive at school, college and work.
The WMCA has made a series of new funding commitments including £900,000 to expand its hugely successful Thrive programme with a new strand, Thrive at College, which will offer support to 19 to 23-year-olds with mental health and wellbeing while they are in higher education.
The Thrive programme has already supported 4,000 people with long-term health issues find and retain jobs, and 550 businesses commit to improving staff wellbeing.
The WMCA has also ring-fenced £3million from the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund’s Community Grant programme for community-led schemes which promote physical activity and wellbeing – both drivers of good mental health.
A further £2million will be used to help grow the region’s social economy to support of the Commission’s recommendations around creating self-sustainable communities.
Schemes include tackling the demand for children’s mental health service by promoting learning about the issues in the curriculum, providing more access to counselling and empowering parents to carry on that education at home.
Community-specific support will be provided, particularly in racialised communities which experience much poorer mental health outcomes.
And barriers preventing residents from participating in physical activity will be reduced.
Visit wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/wellbeing/west-midlands-mental-health-commission/ to read the West Midlands Mental Health Commission’s full report.
Go to wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/wellbeing/ for more about the wellbeing programme, including Thrive.
