Wakefield District Housing joins alliance to help people with their mental health

Formed in 2018, the Wakefield Mental Health Alliance is made up of providers and commissioners from across the Wakefield district and allows members to share their expertise and work together.

Wakefield District Housing has provided mental health services to customers since 2016 through its mental health navigators, who support tenants with low to moderate needs to maintain their tenancies.

It says demand for support has increased since the pandemic and it has introduced health care support workers into the team who help tenants suffering from mental health issues.

One of its latest projects was establishing a housing coordinator role which sees staff placed at Fieldhead Hospital in Wakefield, helping to remove housing-related barriers for patients who are fit for discharge.

Sarah Roxby, Wakefield District Housing’s service director for housing, said: “The partnership between housing, care and health is more important than ever with more and more tenants identifying their need for mental health support.

"We are focusing our efforts on improving access to early support and have been actively looking at ways to strengthen our ability to help tenants with mental health issues.

“We are very pleased to join the Wakefield Mental Health Alliance and look forward to continuing working in partnership with other providers in the area to help our tenants and the wider community.”