People’s Health Trust has warned of a mental health crisis
amongst people working in grassroots voluntary and community
sector (VCS) organisations and called for an urgent intervention
to prevent the breakdown of frontline community support services.
A new report published today by People’s Health Trust highlights
the risk of a collapse in the workforce that has been brewing
since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when grassroots VCS
organisations found themselves on the frontline providing direct
support to their communities. Demand has continued to rise,
primarily due to increased mental health needs, financial
insecurity, and other pandemic-related impacts including
“extreme social isolation”.
The report, which is based on data gathered from grassroots VCS
organisations between April 2020 and February 2022, reveals
heightened concern about the level of mental health support which
VCS organisations are now having to offer, with organisations
identifying this as their biggest challenge ahead (97% in April
2021 and 90% in November 2021).
The vital work being carried out by these groups has largely gone
unnoticed, and the rise in demand and pressure on organisations
and their staff, leaves organisations vulnerable to reductions
and closure. One grassroots VCS leader described ‘compassion
fatigue’ and in February 2022, 82% of survey respondents were
worried about staff burnout in the coming six months.
Despite the increase in people turning to grassroots VCS
organisations for support with their mental health, survey
responses revealed that many workers had little or no mental
health training.
Toby Gorniak OBE , Creative Director of Street Factory in
Plymouth described his experiences of running a small
organisation during the pandemic:
“None of us were prepared to Covid-19. We were dealing with
high demand from people contemplating suicide, experiencing panic
attacks and generally feeling trapped. The workload was really
high and it was very difficult for us. At the beginning of the
pandemic there were just two of us delivering
all the work. We literally worked seven days a week. We were on
the phone or zoom or facetime all the time. It was constant. It
was tough. We had each other but there was nobody to help
us.”
Marcia Ash, co-facilitator and psychotherapist at Pride in
Mind which works in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Sunderland
had similar experiences and said:
“When the Covid-19 pandemic hit I took on a lot more work
than I usually do within the organisation. It’s been even harder
for our group because participants’ usual meet up places have
closed, a lot of the LGBTQ+ scene is based around socialising and
people have had nowhere to go. All of this is a lot of added
pressure on voluntary workers. People that work in this
sector are passionate about it and want to help but we need
resources, training, and support to be able to do so.”
Reflecting on the findings of the research, People’s Health Trust
CEO, John Hume, said:
“The risk to the mental health of the voluntary sector
workers poses a huge problem for communities and the statutory
services supporting them. Grassroots organisations are doing
amazing work which has been largely been overlooked throughout
the pandemic but it will soon become clear how much they do if we
let this crisis worsen and their services cannot
continue.
Staff and volunteers have supported people in their final
moments, have been the only friend to isolated people during the
lockdown, have provided emergency financial aid and food parcels,
and have listened day in day out to the grief and despair felt by
people over the past two years.”
People’s Health Trust is calling for the development of a
co-ordinated strategy to support grassroots VCS workers as a
matter of urgency to ensure community groups can continue
providing essential support to their communities.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
People’s Health Trust is an independent charity investing in
local communities in England, Scotland and Wales to help create a
society without health inequalities. It works to ensure that
where you live does not unfairly reduce the length of your life,
or the quality of your health. It works closely with 12 community
interest companies raising money through The Health Lottery and
distributing grants.
A copy of the report, “We were absolutely
invisible”: the impact of Covid-19 on the mental health of
grassroots voluntary and community sector workers, is available
on request. It will be available for download from https://www.peopleshealthtrust.org.uk/
on Thursday 23rd June 2022.
The report is based on the findings of five surveys conducted
with grassroots VCS organisations in April 2020, July/August
2020, March/April 2021, October/November 2021 and February 2022,
supplemented by two in-depth workshops in November 2021.
