Mental health campaign receives £20m in funding

The Time To Change campaign has received £20 million in funding from the Department of Health (DH), Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, in a bid to help tackle the stigma around mental health.

The initiative, which is run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, works with schools, employers and local communities to reduce the discrimination around mental illnesses and raise awareness about the condition.

The scheme has received £30 million in funding so far, and more than 800 schools and almost 400 employers have taken part.

The charities have cited a 14 per cent drop in the proportion of people reporting discriminations since the campaign was launched.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Tackling the stigma associated with mental health problems is essential if we are to break down barriers and encourage people to seek help before they reach crisis point.

"Time To Change is already making a difference, but with recent studies showing that just 50% of people seek help following a suicide attempt, it's clear that we still have major work to do."

Jo Loughran, interim director of Time To Change, said: "Since Time To Change began, we've made real progress in transforming public attitudes and empowering thousands of people to tackle discrimination, but we've always said that this is the work of a generation and there's still more work to be done."