11/06/2026
The North East deserves better mental health support.
We cannot continue to accept a system where people are forced to wait until they reach crisis point before help becomes available.
The evidence is clear. The North East has the highest su***de rate in England. Almost one in four people in the region are likely to be living with a common mental health condition. Thousands of adults, children and young people are waiting far too long for the support they desperately need.
But behind every statistic is a real person. a parent, a child, a veteran, a worker, a neighbour, a family trying to hold everything together.
Across our communities, poverty, trauma, isolation, poor housing, unemployment and long-term illness are all having a devastating impact on people’s mental health. Yet too often, local charities and community organisations are left to fill the gaps without the long-term funding needed to meet growing demand.
At Anxious Minds, we see this every day.
People come to us because they need someone to listen. They need counselling. They need advice. They need peer support. They need a safe place to recover.
Veterans and their families come to us carrying trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, relationship breakdown and social isolation. Many have already waited too long. Many feel they have nowhere else to turn.
Early intervention saves lives.
Community mental health support must be treated as essential, not optional. We need proper investment in local services that can support people before they fall into crisis. We need services that are trusted, accessible and rooted in the communities they serve.
The North East has some of the greatest mental health needs in the country. It also has some incredible charities and community organisations working every day to support people through mental health challenges.
But compassion alone will not keep services open.
Without proper funding, support and commitment from those in positions of power, charities will continue to struggle to meet demand. The gap between NHS services and the voluntary sector will continue to grow, and more people will be left waiting, suffering and reaching crisis point.
It is time for decision-makers, funders, commissioners and partners to act.
Mental health must become a real priority for the North East not just in words, but in funding, action and long-term commitment.
Because people in the North East deserve more than warm words.
They deserve support when they need it most.
