“This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them; for students, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures; for workers whose livelihoods are threatened; for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from COVID-19; and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye.”

Action:  Read the Social Justice Statement 2020-21 To Live Life to the Full: Mental health in Australia today

Access the Do Not be Afraid website for guidelines and resources to assist parishes in welcoming and supporting people with mental ill-health and their families.

Find out about mental health services in your area.

Mental health parish kit-PRINT (2015)