New Guide To Homelessness And Mental Health
The Chartered Institute of Housing president Aileen Evans has today (5th February) launched a new guide to help housing organisations raise their game on mental health.
The guide, developed with support from the mental health charity Mind, sets out six things the sector can do to make everyone who works in housing more aware and supportive of other people’s mental health issues, reports 24housing. Evans, who has implemented a wide range of workplace and workforce initiatives in her role as CEO of Grand Union Housing Group, has been vocal about her commitment to raising awareness of mental health during her CIH presidency.
Evans chose Mind as her presidential charity when she assumed the role of president in November last year, highlighting the work the organisation does around improving people’s mental health and increasing mental health awareness. She said her decision to focus on mental health and wellbeing during her presidency was an opportunity “to give something back to the profession and the people that supported me in my career.”
“As housing professionals, we need to equip ourselves to be mental-health aware, because if we are unwell – if we can’t bring compassion into what we do – then we can risk failing people from whom everyone else may have already walked away,” she said. “People look to us for a home. We can’t walk away from our responsibility. My campaign is called Shine a Light, because that’s what I want to do – shine a light on mental health in housing. Because, if we can’t talk about a problem, we can’t be part of the solution. Raising awareness – talking about mental health – has made a big difference in my organisation, and it will do the same in yours.”
According to reports, poor mental health affects one in four of us in any given year – with two men working in construction and maintenance said to take their own lives every day. The guide gives housing organisations helpful advice on how to:
- Prioritise mental health in the workplace by developing and delivering a systematic programme of activity
- Proactively ensure work design and organisational culture drive positive mental health outcomes
- Promote an open culture around mental health
- Increase organisational confidence and capability
- Provide mental health tools and support
- Increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting
Mind’s head of workplace wellbeing programmes, Faye McGuiness, said: “Mind is delighted to be working with Aileen and CIH to #ShineaLight on mental health in the housing sector. We hope it will help housing professionals and organisations across the country raise awareness and take action to support the mental health of staff.”
CIH chief executive Gavin Smart added: “As housing professionals and as organisations we can all do more to support our own and others’ mental wellbeing. There are some great examples of innovative good practice already in the sector, and I hope Aileen’s campaign and this guide will inspire us all to do more.”
“CIH is proud to support Shine a Light, and we will be working hard to encourage our members and the wider profession to raise awareness of mental health issues, to raise our game in responding to them and to raise money for Mind and the work it does.”
