The Surrey All Age Mental Health Investment Fund (MHIF) has granted funding of £3.6m to 13 projects that provide innovative, community-focused programmes. This is in addition to the £530,000 that was granted in 2023 to 9 projects. These initiatives aim to support the emotional well-being of our citizens by focusing on preventing poor mental health and aiding those with mental health needs. This gives people access to early, appropriate support, preventing further escalation of their needs. Additionally, the MHIF has supported projects that work with communities to tackle isolation.
Established in 2022, the MHIF is a joint fund with Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership and is part of the county’s No One Left Behind agenda. The additional investment in mental health provision was ring fenced within the 22/23 Council Tax with an additional contribution from the NHS (National Health Service).
The 2019 Surrey Health and Wellbeing Strategy focusses on how to reduce health inequalities so no-one is left behind. The evidence it is based on helps us to understand and target key groups and neighbourhoods across Surrey with the Mental Health Investment Fund. The MHIF is aligned to meeting the outcomes of Priority 2 of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which focuses on prevention, removing barriers and supporting people to become proactive in improving their emotional health and wellbeing.
A broad range of partners across the NHS, County Council and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise came together to carefully consider the bids and award the funding. We look forward to sharing stories from the variety of projects and people and communities being positively impacted over the next year.
Dr Charlotte Canniff, Joint Chief Medical Officer for Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership, said: “This investment reflects the importance we place on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those facing mental health challenges. The communities we are part of play a huge role in our mental wellbeing. I am thrilled to see the success stories from round one projects and how they can thrive with this investment and look forward to more people getting the help they need through the second round of funding.”
Mark Nuti, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Health, said: “I am delighted that the second round of funding has been allocated to a range of different organisations and is spread across the 11 districts and boroughs of Surrey, all working to tackle mental ill-health with innovative, community-focused projects. I eagerly anticipate the positive impact the second round of funding will have on people in Surrey in need of mental well-being support.”
Successful Mental Health Investment Fund bids- Round 2
| Organisation | Project | Scheme | Amount | Length |
| Active Prospects | Inclusive Wellbeing Coaches | Active Prospects specialises in supporting people with complex needs, including those with multiple diagnoses, including mental health and autism. There is a long-standing gap in MH services for people who have an additional neurodiversity need in Surrey, with people experiencing poorer outcomes and higher levels of suicide. This funding will enable Active Prospects to create a team of 3 Inclusive Wellbeing Coaches (IWCs) to help people aged 18+ with multiple challenges to their wellbeing and MH to attain greater quality of life. This project aims to be delivered in the next key neighbourhoods: – Hooley, Merstham & Netherne – Tattenham Corner & Preston – Horley Central & South – Redhill West & Wray Common. | £299,270 | 2 years |
| Barnardo’s | Barnardo’s Paediatric Parenting Service | Barnardo’s supports families, children, young people, and communities across the UK. Our Practitioners work through a trauma informed lens of practice, and embed an equality, diversity, inclusion approach. Barnardo’s core values are at the heart of every aspect of our work, including working with hope for a better future for children. The service will provide support to parents/carers of children under 6 years old and who have a diagnosis of, or who are awaiting a diagnosis of, autism and/or ADHD. The project aims to be delivered in the next key neighbourhoods: – Runnymede Chertsey St. Ann’s/Englefield Green West – Reigate and Banstead in Redhill West & Wray Common – Surrey Heath in Old Dean – Woking in Canalside/Goldsworth Park – Waverley in Godalming Central and Ockford/in Farnham Upper Hale – Epsom and Ewell in Court – Spelthorne in Ashford North and Stanwell South – Elmbridge in Walton North/Cobham and Downside | £409,609 | 2.5 years |
| CHIPS Guildford | Easter and Summer school holiday play and respite project | CHIPS provides quality school holiday play provision for children at school in the Guildford wards of Westborough and Stoke. Their transformative Easter and summer school holiday play and respite project for children aged 5-11 supports vulnerable and disadvantaged children from priority populations and/or key neighbourhoods, to access early help to prevent poor mental health and receive support to improve their emotional wellbeing, resilience, self-confidence, and essential skills to enable them to thrive. | £120,680 | 3 years |
| Citizen Advice Elmbridge West | GP Surgery Outreach Service | Citizens Advice Elmbridge West, a local charity, seeks to enhance community support by embedding a Citizen Advice advisor in GP surgeries in Walton on Thames, with a focus on the Rodney Road location serving key neighbourhoods. The goal is to increase GP capacity and reduce the long-term demand for mental health services by enabling patients to access timely support and resources. The project aims to be delivered in Walton South and Walton North | £149,727 | 3 years |
| Delight | Make Create Celebrate | A holistic early intervention visual arts & wellbeing programme supporting children & their families in Guildford, Spelthorne & Runnymede neighbourhoods with poor health outcomes. The proposal builds on Delight’s substantial experience of inclusive & impactful arts programmes with Surrey primary schools. They will combine their existing Delight in Art programme of in-school children’s activities & teacher support (with the 2 pathways entitled Rainforest Retreat & Delight in Watts) and a new interlinked family arts & wellbeing programme. | £104,496 | 20 months |
| Emerge Advocacy | Expanding follow-up capacity | Emerge Advocacy supports people aged 10-25 who are in A&E because of self-harm, a suicide attempt or emotional crisis, 7pm – 11pm when many other services are closed, and hospital staff are very busy. The MHIF funding will allow Emerge to expand their post hospital follow up support so that young people and their families do not have to endure long waits for support during their most vulnerable moments. Emerge Advocacy runs Emerge projects in the Royal Surrey, Epsom, Frimley and East Surrey hospitals. | £491,002 | 3 years |
| PAPYRUS | Prevention of Young Suicide | The project expands PAPYRUS’ impact in Surrey’s schools through key initiatives: disseminating the ‘Surrey Young Suicide Prevention Toolkit’ for staff training, facilitating the creation of suicide-safer policies in each school, providing CPD-accredited suicide prevention training and a 30-minute SPARK (Suicide Prevention Awareness, Resource, Knowledge) presentation for parents, and promoting the ‘Helplines Standard’-accredited HOPELINE247 for 24/7 confidential support, including debriefing for professionals. Papyrus offers support Surrey wide with the HOPELINE247. Offering more direct intervention as well on their Year 1 to: – Holmwoods in Mole Valley – Court in Epsom and Ewell – Hooley, Merstham and Netherne in Reigate and Banstead – Canalside in Woking Year 2 to: – Westborough and/or Stoke in Guildford – Farnham Upper Hale and/or Godalming Central and Ocford in Waverley – Englefield Green West and/or Chertsey St Ann’s in Runnymede – Stanwell North and/or Ashford North & Standwell South in Spelthorne | £139,834 | 2 years |
| Re-Engage | Reducing Loneliness and Isolation in Over 75s | Their mission is to work within communities to end social isolation and loneliness in older people. The MHIF funding will fund an engagement officer to build on Re-engage’s network of referral partners in Surrey and to recruit older people and volunteers into Re-engage’s offer. This will be supported by a targeted marketing campaign and the service delivery team will then onboard older people and volunteers. The proposal covers the whole of Surrey, with a focus on the 21 priority neighbourhoods. They will prioritise areas within these neighbourhoods based on: – Surrey Council preferences – Older people populations – Older people’s health and wellbeing needs | £85,305 | 3 years |
| Richmond Fellowship | Support for Parents of Young Families | The project aims to offer early intervention outreach for parents of young families, focusing on maintaining positive mental health and well-being by enhancing support and social networks. This includes a Wellbeing Assessment, digital support tools, and referral to community resources, as well as follow-up appointments. The service will operate Thursday to Saturday in three key neighbourhoods within East Surrey, as follows: – Redhill West and Wray Common. – Hooley, Merstham and Netherne. – Hurst Green. | £249,728 | 2 years |
| Schools Alliance for Excellence | Nurturing Approach | This project is to support and train 100 mainstream Surrey schools to deliver a graduated approach to nurture, working with nurture UK – a leading and highly successful charity. There is comprehensive national and international evidence that a whole school nurture approach and nurture groups can make a significant difference to all Children and Young People’s unmet mental health and emotional wellbeing needs but in particular to those children that have specific Social, emotional, and mental health challenges. | £495,280 | 2 years |
| Sport in Mind | Sport in Mind | Sport in Mind provide 14 weekly sport and physical activity sessions in key locations in Surrey to support people experiencing mental health problems. The therapeutic programmes are non-clinical and are co-designed by people with mental health problems for people with mental health problems, ensuring all our activities are delivered in a safe, supportive, non-judgemental, and welcoming environment, where one’s mental health will never be a barrier to engagement. The MHIF funding will also allow Sport in Mind to introduce Wellbeing Journals and a Training/Volunteering programme. Engaging adults across all key neighbourhoods. Specific venues in the following key neighbourhood areas: – Three sessions in Guildford for residents. – One session will target residents in Surrey Heath – One session will target residents in Woking – One session will target residents Runnymede – One session will target residents Reigate and Banstead. | £73,394 | 2 years |
| Surrey Care Trust | Steps2Work Wellbeing | This programme, Steps2Work Wellbeing, will tackle the mental health of Surrey residents who are unemployed: a group highly vulnerable to mental ill health. The programme will sustainably improve the mental health of the unemployed, combining 1:1 support from trained staff with long-term volunteer mentoring & nature-therapy: a holistic combination that significantly improves existing fragmented support. The programme will support different parts of the county: Reigate & Banstead & surrounding boroughs: – Hooley, Merstham & Netherne – Horley Central & South – Redhill West & Central – Tattenham Corner & Preston Court – Holmwoods Stanwell, Spelthorne hub: – Stanwell North – Ashford Common/Stanwell South Woking hub: – Goldsworth Park – Canalside | £757,560 | 3 years |
| YMCA | Step Forward | Step Forward is addressing a gap in service provision for young adults with poor mental health, especially “at risk” groups and those transitioning from child to adult services, who are often left without support at a time when they need it most. Step Forward, offers one to one and group-based support for young people from age 17 through to age 24 (up to their 25th birthday) who have experienced or are experiencing emotional wellbeing and mental health challenges. The service will be delivered across: – Reigate & Banstead: in Hooley, Merstham, Netherne, Tattenham Corner, Preston, Horley Central and South, Redhill West, Wray Common – Epsom and Ewell – Mole Valley in Holmwoods – Elmbridge in Cobham and Downside | £95,520 | 2 years |
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