Advice centres 'help people get back into work'

19th March 2010

People who have experienced mental health problems can be helped back into employment provided they have access to the right support.

This is the suggestion of Paul Farmer, chief executive officer (CEO) of charity Mind, who described the success of one his organisation's advice clinics in Telford.

Earlier this week, he was at hand to reopen the facility, named the Wellbeing Centre, which he noted helped 5,500 customers last year.

Commenting on one male service user who he spoke to, Mr Farmer said: "Once he found Telford Mind, he'd been able to build up his confidence and he's now one of the trustees, a volunteer befriender and thinking about a return to work."

This kind of community-based approach is something that the government's New Horizons strategy should try to emulate, the CEO added.

Earlier this year, the Time to Change anti-discrimination campaign stated that the initiative - which is an overarching scheme to promote good mental health practices - requires consistent funding in order to be successful.