The Mental Health and Money Advice website is now available and provides guidance, articles, tools and calculators.
The UK currently has eight million people struggling with mental illnesses. The service will be delivered by Mental Health UK, a charity formed by four mental health organisations:Rethink Mental Illness, Hafal, Support in Mind Scotland and MindWise.
The £3 million money advice service is being funded by Lloyds Banking Group as part of the group’s two year charity partnership with Mental Health UK. The website, which is free to all users, will provide information, practical advice and tools such as template letters and calculators to ensure the advice is relevant and accurate.
The website will also feature stories and advice from people with first-hand experience of mental health and money problems and include an advice line which charities and debt organisations can use to refer people for specialist support.
Research conducted by Mental Health UK, based on 1,500 professionals, found that people affected by poor mental health were often in need of specialist financial guidance.
Of those surveyed, 87 per cent wanted answers to mental health and money questions. Almost 78 per cent wanted this information provided on a website, while 49 per cent wanted to speak to a trained member of staff over the phone.
Brian Dow, managing director of Mental Health UK, said: “Money problems and mental health issues like anxiety and depression can create a vicious cycle where problems can spiral. At its worst this can lead to debt, family breakdown and even homelessness.
“This new service will be able to help someone with schizophrenia who needs support managing their money and accessing welfare benefits, and someone struggling to pay their debts and bills whose mental health is deteriorating as a result.”
Fiona Cannon, Responsible Business and Inclusion director at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We look forward to seeing the positive impact the service will have on those affected by poor financial and mental health.”
The Mental Health & Money Advice service is available here: mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org