GLE Guest Blog: A Mentally Healthier Future strategy

Andy Bell, Chief Executive of Centre for Mental Health and GLE member shares insights from the recently launched five year A Mentally Healthier Future strategy

This year, 2025, Centre for Mental Health is marking 40 years of ground-breaking work by looking ahead with our next five year strategy to the ways we want to make a difference in the near future through our new five year strategy.

Our strategy, A Mentally Healthier Future sets out Centre for Mental Health’s vision and purpose, and the actions we are going to take to realise them.

Our vision is of a future where everyone’s essential needs are met so they can have better mental health. We know that mental health inequalities reflect economic and social inequalities: our chances of having good or poor mental health are determined by our environments, experiences, and circumstances. Poverty, racism, violence and oppression put too many people’s mental health at risk.

Our vision is of a future where we can all get the mental health support we need at the right time. We know that, for too many people, support isn’t there when they need it, or it doesn’t meet their needs. This is inequitable and costly.

And our vision is of a future where no one faces inequity or injustice because of their mental health. Today, people living with a mental illness face a dramatically reduced life expectancy as well as discrimination and unfair treatment in multiple aspects of everyday life. Structural injustices have been allowed to get in the way of equality for too long.

As an independent charity, working in the UK but with international connections that inspire us and enable us to learn so much more, we’re determined to make a mentally healthier future possible, both here and worldwide. We’re going to do that through our actions over the next five years: building knowledge; convening people and communities; leading and supporting leadership; learning and providing learning opportunities; and speaking out about inequality and injustice. We’ll do that through our research and policy analysis; our training and consultancy; our networks and campaigns; our communications and evaluations: all with a deep commitment to listening, learning, and seeking to tackle racism and white supremacism.

We cannot do this alone. We walk with and alongside the people, communities and organisations that are on this journey with us. We want to connect with those who share our commitment to mental health equality and justice, especially those who bring perspectives and ideas that have been ignored, sidelined and silenced for too long.

Join us, let us know about your work and ideas, and follow us to stay up-to-date on how we’re taking on the challenges we face. Together we really can work towards a mentally healthier future. You can get in touch with Andy and his team on the Centre for Mental Health website.