This workstream brings together four NIMHE programmes:
The National Social Inclusion Programme (NSIP) was initially established to coordinate the delivery of the Social Exclusion Unit's (SEU) report, Mental Health and Social Exclusion and its 27-action points through a cross government national team with far-reaching national and regional partnerships to support its work. The report represented a landmark for mental health policy and practice in the UK. It provided, for the first time, a clear plan for action to reduce and remove the barriers to employment, mainstream services, and community participation for those with mental health problems.
As stated within the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit publication Reaching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion, NSIP was further tasked, with the Regional Development Centres, with the delivery of good practice in employment, implementing commissioning guidance and working with Shift (see below).
NSIP has worked with the Cabinet Office on the mental health aspects of the Public Service Agreement (PSA) 16 on accommodation and employment which seeks to improve these outcomes for the four most excluded groups in society. NSIP continues to work in partnership with colleagues across government and RDCs to ensure that the PSA drives change at local level.
For more information, please visit www.socialinclusion.org.uk
SHIFT is an initiative to tackle stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health issues in England. The aim is to create a society where people who experience mental health problems enjoy the same rights as other people. Towards this goal, they work with groups and organisations, drawing on expertise in public health and mental health promotion, communications, disability rights, service redesign, research and evaluation. SHIFT builds on the mind out for mental health campaign, which ran from 2001 to April 2004.
SHIFT was established in 2004 following a plan called "From Here to Equality". They are part of the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE), a Government-funded organisation that works to improve the quality of life of people of all ages who experience mental health problems.
Find out more about Shift and our work here: http://www.shift.org.uk
Mental Health First Aid is a training program for members of the public in how to support someone in a mental health crisis situation, or who is developing a mental disorder. Mental Health First Aid training can assist in early intervention and in the on-going community support of people with mental illnesses. It is useful for people employed in areas that involve increased contact with mental health issues and for carers of people with mental illnesses.
See more on the website at: