Mental health charities from across Devon have unveiled the Devon Mental Health Alliance (DMHA), a partnership which aims to improve access to mental health services and identify new opportunities to support people across all of the county’s communities.
Focused on delivering community services as part of the NHS Community Mental Health Framework improvement programme, the Alliance will be led by six organisations dedicated to supporting people experiencing mental health challenges. They will work collaboratively with partners from the statutory, voluntary, and community sectors to make services across Devon more accessible, more effective, and better suited to the needs of their users.
The DMHA includes six member charities: Improving Lives Plymouth, Shekinah, Step One Charity, CoLab Exeter, Devon Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The collective is working closely with the Devon Partnership NHS Trust and Livewell Southwest as lead statutory partners, and will link with other organisations across the county to create stronger pathways and brand-new services dedicated to supporting people with mental health problems.
Speaking on the launch, chair of the Alliance Rob Smith commented:
“We’re so excited to be launching the Devon Mental Health Alliance after 12 months of work with charities, voluntary sector and NHS partners. There are so many great mental health services across Devon, but with the strength of our six organisations – and numerous other partners we hope will join us in the future – we know that we can make a real positive change in how thousands of people across the county access and benefit from support.”
As part of the DMHA’s work, several dedicated roles will be created to develop and deliver services across four coordinated areas of Devon, the fourth-largest county in England. Each area will have a locality manager to help coordinate services, as well as multiple recovery practitioners to deliver therapeutic intervention, courses, workshops, and more. Recruitment has already begun for these roles and will continue over the next year.
To find out more about the Devon Mental Health Alliance and how to get involved, visit www.mentalhealthdevon.co.uk or email info@mentalhealthdevon.co.uk.
