Early today, Eurodiaconia published its new policy paper titled: “Caring for people’s mental health.” This aims to seize the opportunity to stress why any effort towards a more social Europe should also look at mental health as a key dimension of people’s well-being.
Eurodiaconia members have a direct experience as providers of services for people with mental health issues, a term which applies to a range of conditions from emotional wellbeing, to mental disorders associated to stress, to mental illness like schizophrenia. In their work, our members witness and act upon the challenges associated to mental health, including the stigma and negative stereotypes which are still associated to mental health issues in Europe today. In light of such an experience, Eurodiaconia views action for better mental health as essential to break the vicious circle established between ill mental health and social exclusion. In this context, Eurodiaconia calls for ambitious efforts on many fronts to address the cross-cutting dimension of mental health issues, its many facets and increasing impact on people.
Eurodiaconia sees quality services as a core piece of any preventative and repairing action around mental health. Services should also be viewed as a platform to end the stigma associated to mental disease and enable the inclusiveness of people with mental health issues in communities.
To know more about services for people with mental health issues, read our latest policy paper.