Jon Cruddas: “Mental health issues in Dagenham are on the rise”
Jon Cruddas has revealed he has seen a “worrying rise” in mental health issues among his constituents due to escalating financial hardship.
The MP for Dagenham and Rainham spoke out on World Mental Health Day to bring attention to the severity of the problem.
He said: “With the government’s hard hitting austerity measures that were introduced earlier this year, my office has seen a worrying rise in mental health issues that are coming across linked with peoples social, economical and financial situations.
“People are having the means to feed their families taken away from them; people are beginning to feel increasingly that they have nowhere to turn.”
Various events were held across the borough on Thursday (10) to flag up the support available, including a range of stalls at Dagenham Library run by local and national organisations promoting mental wellbeing where professionals were also available for advice.
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The council’s health and adult services team also ran a focus group at the Broadway Theatre to discuss the impact of the government’s welfare reforms locally and how people’s emotional wellbeing has been affected.
A committee spokesman said: “The session highlighted three main concerns: anxiety around the impact of Universal Credit and benefits assessments; support for people who have experienced mental ill health to obtain the appropriate skills to get back into work and addressing feelings of victimisation of people with mental ill health within the workplace.”
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He said the committee will be investigating the issues which will influence recommendations in its final report on mental health services in the borough.
Mr Cruddas added: “With events like World
Mr Cruddas added: “With events like World Mental Health Day, I think we can finally start to break down the stigma that surrounds mental health. The key is early identification and talking, and I think locally we have the resources to tackle the issue.
“I applaud all the hard work that is going into this day across the area, helping families and the general public to find out what services are available to them and what help and support are on offer locally.”
