UK-registered healthcare charities may apply for the Mental Health programme. The charity must have an annual income below £20 million and at least five-years’ audited or independently-examined accounts.
The Foundation aims to support UK charities with a focus on mental health. Projects are funded to help children and young people recover from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), plus support parents affected by ACEs, mental illness or addiction.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events in childhood that negatively affects mental health, and includes:
- Sexual abuse.
- Physical abuse or neglect.
- Emotional abuse or neglect.
- Living in a household where there is domestic violence.
- Living with a parent with substance abuse.
- Living with a parent who has a mental illness.
- Losing a parent through death, abandonment, or divorce.
- Having a parent in prison.
The charity must have an annual income below £20 million and at least five-years’ audited or independently-examined accounts.
The charities can be either regionally or nationally based.
Applications should demonstrate that the organisations is patient led in shaping, running and improving their services. Additionally, real impact through their own evaluations or independent research should be highlighted.
The following are not eligible for funding:
- Befriending.
- Entertainment activities.
- General mental wellbeing support.
- General parenting advice.
- Leisure activities.
- Mentoring.
- Social care programmes.
- Sports based activities.
- Wellbeing activities.
Projects should be evidence-based, trauma-informed interventions that will overcome and prevent ACEs. The programme supports children and young people affected by ACEs, plus parents (to help break the cycle of trauma across generations):
- Children and young people
- Only charities that have a specialist, single focus on one or more of the following are supported: childhood sexual abuse; living in a household where there is domestic violence, and/or physical and/or emotional neglect; living with a parent who has a mental illness and/or substance abuse. Charities must have a 'children first' approach.
- Parental support
- Specialist charities that solely focus on supporting parents and complex family challenges by delivering: help for parents to confront their own ACEs and help to break the intergenerational cycle of trauma and abuse; and help for families where a parent or caregiver has a mental illness or substance addiction (and is at risk of harming their children).