There is no question that the pandemic has had a real impact on people’s mental health right across the country. We’ve had the anxiety and uncertainty around the virus itself coupled with isolating, being separated from loved ones and missing out on the daily interactions we probably took for granted before.
For people experiencing homelessness, all this has come on top of having nowhere to call home.
Working as part of a team of Clinical Psychologists at Crisis, I see at first-hand how disproportionately people facing homelessness are affected by mental health issues. Many of these issues are linked to previous and devastating trauma and are only made worse by the circumstances they are forced to live in.
Part of our work at Crisis is to ensure our clients have the psychological support they need to establish a life away from homelessness. Keeping this going through the pandemic has been a real challenge and Crisis staff have been finding all sorts of creative solutions.
In the early days of the pandemic, our coaches worked rapidly to provide phones, tablets, laptops and data to our clients who needed it and adapted our services, including our psychological support, so we could provide a continued lifeline over the phone and online.
With lockdown and restrictions now eased, it is a relief for our clients to feel less of the added mental pressure that we’ve had from the circumstances of the last year and for face-to-face support to be more of an option again.
Whether in person or online, all our work is only made possible by the fantastic people and organisations who support us, meaning we can continue to help people across the country to leave homelessness behind for good.
On behalf of Crisis and the thousands of people we support each year, we would particularly like to thank the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, in Wales and elsewhere, who have helped fund the vital work of our Clinical Psychologists in such difficult times.
Peter Oakes,
Lead Clinical Psychologist at Crisis
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