The number of local people dealing with mental health issues is expected to “escalate hugely in the next six or seven months,” warns Lawrence Curtis, director of Highbury-based social enterprise Healthy Minds, Healthy Bods (HMHB).
Curtis has cited rising unemployment and the government’s furlough scheme coming to an end on 31 October as potential factors contributing towards a mental health crisis.
HMHB, which provides the elderly, unemployed and homeless with support and resources as they work to improve their physical and mental fitness, was originally created by Curtis in order “to help individuals back into employment quicker, healthier, and happier”.
Before the pandemic, the organisation focused on the provision of in-person activities at studios provided free of charge by Better Gyms around the Highbury Fields area.
Since April, the charity has adapted to work with clients remotely, and Curtis now sends out weekly mental health packs filled with resources designed to inform and challenge participants.
As more people are expected to claim for unemployment support across London in the coming weeks, Curtis — currently receiving Universal Credit himself — wants to focus on deepening HMHB’s existing relationships with Job Centres across Islington, Hackney, Haringey and Camden.
While he says that he has received positive feedback from local government officials, he adds that the department has never provided direct funding for HMHB’s work with their users. Curtis laments: “It all boils down to money – it really does. It boils down to [whether] anyone [is] willing to pay for the services you’re going to give.”
