Innovation: Campaign Against Living Miserably

United Kingdom

AAI Domains: Independent, healthy and secure living (mental well-being)

Poor mental health due to anxiety, depression or other common disorders can affect anybody at any stage in life and is a major contributory factor to poor health and mental well-being and suicide. Across the European Union approximately 60,000 people a year commit suicide with nearly 80% of this total being men, making prevention of suicide an important policy aim.

In 2008, the European Union Pact for Mental Health and Well-Being made commitments to reduce depression and suicide, improve mental health among young people, in workplace settings, among older people and to reduce stigma and discrimination. There is considerable scope for social innovations that improve mental well-being and reduce the rate of suicide in all countries in the European Union.

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) started in Manchester as a pilot project of the Department of Health in 1997 and was rolled out to Merseyside and Cumbria in 2000. The aim of CALM is to improve mental well-being and reduce the rate of suicide among men, particularly in the age range of 15–35 years. Suicide is the leading cause of death among men in the 20–45 years age range and the effects due to bereavement of family and friends can be deep and long lasting.

CALM provides a helpline aimed at young men but is also available to everybody who is feeling suicidal, it also offers a website to provide information and online support about mental health care services and a magazine to promote awareness and reduce the stigma associated with these issues. Public funding for the project ended in 2004–05 despite the fact that the suicide rate among men had markedly declined in the areas in which it operated. However, it was re-launched as a national charity in 2006 by Jane Powell who managed the initial project and built on the established links it had with the entertainment and music industries to raise its profile and developed links with the corporate and charitable funding sector.

The telephone helpline, run by a Community Interest Company on behalf of CALM, receives approximately 5,000 calls per month. In 2011, the decision to focus on men of any age was made as it was clear that they were receiving more calls from men over the age of 35 than under it. CALM has been nominated and received numerous awards for the voluntary sector and it has been commissioned by local National Health Service organisations in Merseyside and central London to provide CALMzones to address local health and well-being needs. A third CALMzone was commissioned by the NHS in the Thames Valley in 2015. Although CALM is only a small organisation it has more than 5,000 individual supporters along with links to a range of corporate partners and high profile celebrities.

In relation to active ageing, CALM aims to improve mental well-being and to improve access to health care services by signposting callers to local provision. There is still much progress that needs to be made in relation to improving mental well-being and reducing stigma and discrimination and this would contribute to active ageing and welfare across society.

Campaign Against Living Miserably website