Big Lottery Fund gives £13m to 55 mental health charities

The money will help address the stigma that surrounds mental health and support people with their treatment, according to Nat Sloane, chair of Big Lottery Fund England

By David Ainsworth, Third Sector Online, 14 August 2012

Nat Sloane

The Big Lottery Fund has awarded £13m through its Reaching Communities programme to 55 charities in England to support people with mental health issues, along with their carers and families.

Awards ranged from just under £500,000 to the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Outreach Team for a domestic violence advice service, down to about £38,000 to Action for Achievement for a community arts programme in Liverpool.

The £130m Reaching Communities programme offers grants of between £10,000 and £500,000 to organisations in England that help to build stronger communities and help people in need.

Nat Sloane, chair of the Big Lottery Fund England, said: “It is estimated that one in four people will experience mental health difficulties at some point in their lives and it can happen at any time. I am therefore delighted the Big Lottery Fund has invested this significant sum of money in projects that will go a long way towards removing the stigma that surrounds mental health issues and supporting people in their treatment and recovery.”

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