MKCF - Vital Signs Digital brochure FINAL - Flipbook - Page 31
Vital Action
Local social enterprise, Arthur Ellis, provides
one-to-one mental health support to all
ages at a low fee for private individuals.
During COVID-19, referrals increased
signi昀椀cantly, and the MK Community
Foundation provided a grant that enabled
Arthur Ellis to develop a bespoke referral
management system that allowed them to
accept service users quickly and e昀케ciently.
The new system allowed them to respond
to referrals within minutes and set up
appointments, usually within a week.
The social enterprise noted that before
the COVID-19 pandemic, the most
common presenting issue among young
people was anxiety and depression.
More recently, a higher proportion
have come forward for issues around
relationships, bullying, con昀氀ict
management and self-esteem.
Jon Manning, Founder and CEO of Arthur
Ellis, attributes this to the fact that during
the various lockdowns young people became
unused to dealing with relationships in
person and how to navigate them.
People are now building relationships
but 昀椀nding it di昀케cult to maintain
them, getting into con昀氀ict or
struggling to manage the nuances
within these relationships.
Jon Manning, Aurther Ellis
Jon also noted that cost-of-living pressures
can be behind some of the mental health
issues brought to Arthur Ellis. He advocates
that taking responsibility for your own mental
health is important at the preventative stage.
Vital Signs
20% of adults who are
in contact with state
mental health services in
Milton Keynes are in paid
employment, compared with
the 6% national average.
The proportion of women
(26.6%) reporting high levels
of anxiety was signi昀椀cantly
higher than for men (20.0%).
25% of pupils in Milton Keynes
(aged 11-16) said they had
a mental health problem
in the last 12 months.
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