About the webinar: Mental ill-health is both a cause and a consequence of multiple disadvantage. Almost all beneficiaries of the Fulfilling Lives programme experience mental health problems. Evidence from the national and local evaluations indicates that getting help with mental health, and in particular counselling and psychological therapies, is linked to people making better progress. But very few people receive this kind of help.

In this webinar, the evaluation team will be sharing findings from their recent study on access to mental health services and the barriers faced by people experiencing multiple disadvantage in getting help. The webinar will also feature insights and learning from two of the Fulfilling Lives partnerships, demonstrating how they have tackled some of these challenges.

Intended audience: The webinar is open to anyone but will be of particular interest to commissioners of services that affect or are used by people experiencing multiple disadvantage, policy-makers and other decision makers, as well as managers, practitioners and volunteers in organisations working to support people experiencing multiple disadvantage.

The webinar aims to:

• Share insight from the national evaluation of Fulfilling Lives, focusing in particular on what makes a difference in accessing mental health support for people experiencing multiple disadvantage

• Enhance understanding of the particular barriers faced by people experiencing multiple disadvantage when accessing mental health support

• Introduce the Care Act Toolkit developed by VOICES of Stoke-on-Trent

• Explore how West Yorkshire Finding Independence (WY-FI) developed in-house mental health assessment and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) services tailored to the needs of people experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Speakers:

Rachel Moreton, Associate Director, CFE Research

Andy Meakin, Programme Manager, VOICES Stoke-on-Trent

Bruno Ornelas, Head of Service Delivery and Safeguarding, VOICES Stoke-on-Trent

Mark Crowe, Evaluation and Learning lead, WY-FI.

More about Fulfilling Lives: Fulfilling Lives is a National Lottery Community Fund programme worth £112 million over 8 years. The programme aims to better support people experiencing multiple disadvantage, including homelessness, substance misuse, reoffending and mental ill-health. Voluntary sector-led partnerships in 12 areas of England are helping people to access more joined-up services tailored to their needs. The programme aims to change lives, change systems and involve beneficiaries.

The University of Sheffield is working in partnership with CFE Research to evaluate the programme.