Through their Royal Foundation, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enabled £1.8 million to support key workers and those with mental health problems arising directly from the experience of the pandemic.
The Duke and Duchess have prioritised mental health and wellbeing and will issue grants to 10 leading charities ‘at the heart of mental health and frontline support,’ (https://www.royal.uk/royal-foundation-duke-and-duchess-cambridge-announces-support-frontline-workers-and-nations-mental ).
The nation’s longstanding and tenacious mental health crisis has been exacerbated by the particular problems triggered by the pandemic.
The Royal Foundation’s Covid-19 Response Fund was launched in partnership with NHS England and Hospice UK. The Duchess of Cambridge said:
‘Over recent months, we have all been in awe of the incredible work that frontline staff and emergency responders have been doing in response to Covid-19, but we know that for many of them, their families, and/or thousands of others across the UK, the pandemic will have a lasting impact on their mental health.’
Amongst other things that will be realised due to the Covid-19 Response Fund the grants will enable:
- Children, teachers and their parents to be supported to cope with mental health needs, including self-care and managing anxiety as schools re-open thanks to training and resources from Place2Be and The Anna Freud Centre
- An additional 20,000 new mothers to be supported by Best Beginnings, thanks to a community mental health training project to reach pregnant women and new parents
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to respond to 2,300 more contacts each month
- Funding to build the capacity of the Heads Together partners as they work to campaign to address the nation’s mental health in the aftermath of Covid-19.
