Guernsey Mind will work with Health and Social Care to ensure mental health services are available for those people who need them over the next year.
An agreement will come into effect this Saturday (1 March) for one year. HSC said there is a potential option to extend this.
As part of the agreement, HSC has given Guernsey Mind £65,000, which has been earmarked “to further develop intervention services for those with mild or moderate mental health problems, preventing the need for more costly future interventions”.
Deputy Marc Leadbeater, Vice-President of the Committee for Health & Social Care, said: “We’re really pleased to enter into this agreement with Guernsey Mind for the benefit of our community. This agreement will focus on ensuring access to services and establishing early intervention in line with our Bailiwick Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
“As well as helping to improve the health of our community, early intervention also avoids the need for more significant interventions later down the line for further support and treatment, saving costs through these preventative measures.”
The funding will be used by Guernsey Mind to continue delivering their Supported Self-Help programme which assists islanders with their mental wellbeing.
“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Committee for Health & Social Care to establish this partnership,” said Jo Cottell, Chief Executive of Guernsey Mind.
“This funding provides our team with some much-needed certainty and allows us to carry on offering our Supported Self-Help programme to the community. Early intervention and prevention are crucial in mental health so we’re delighted that HSC has recognised the importance of Guernsey Mind’s work at a community level.”
This is the latest formally commissioned service, over 30 of which currently exist between Guernsey’s Government and the charity sector.
“Charities are often the closest to the community and have the greatest understanding of the services and interventions needed,” said a HSC spokesperson. “Commissioning charities to deliver services is an effective way for government to support community wellbeing.”
Guernsey’s third sector have been a large talking point locally, with many going above and beyond to help those in need within the community.
Last year a report stated that a fifth of locally registered charities may need to redesign their services to remain financially viable, whilst just a month ago several business focussed organisations and groups decided to work together, with Guernsey’s third sector, so they can collaborate on driving meaningful change.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby, Political lead for the charity sector, said: “When it comes to delivering services to support our community, government and the charity sector have many of the same values at heart, which means that there are plenty of opportunities for us to work in partnership to achieve our shared objective of community wellbeing.
“We already work closely with the charity sector through more than 30 formally commissioned services which are in place at a total annual value of more than £5 million, making sure that those who best understand the needs of the community are delivering these services in a way that is as effective, efficient and flexible as possible to meet ever changing needs.”