Great to see our UK community foundation, CEO Fabian French was quick to comment on Theresa's May speech yesterday as she outlined her vision of a 'shared society'.
Here in Oxfordshire, we too have been using our Oxfordshire Uncovered research to highlight the challenges faced by those experiencing mental health and directing our grant funding accordingly.
Several of our donors too have set up in memoriam funds following the tragic suicide of a beloved family member.
There has also been much in the news recently about how critical it is for young people to receive early support and that timely and early intervention are the best way to help prevent ongoing mental health problems. Mental health can affect anyone and the more we can do to discuss this and share stories the better and that's where I believe community foundations have a much greater role to play.
Theresa May's speech today was important for a number of reasons. Firstly, she chose to make her first major speech of the year to an audience of charity professionals at the Charity Commission. This speaks volumes about where we sit as a sector in her thinking. Secondly, she spoke of her vision of a ‘shared society’. Where we all take responsibility for each other as well as businesses, charities and the Government. This marks a small but significant shift away from Cameron’s big society which more or less did away with the Government’s role. And thirdly, it addressed a major issue that Community Foundations have been addressing over the past couple of years – mental health.
http://ukcommunityfoundations.org/media/news_article/shared_society
