Why Awareness Is No Longer Enough & What We're Doing About It
May 11, 2026Posted by:
This Mental Health Awareness Week carries a simple but urgent message: awareness is not enough. The 2026 theme set by the Mental Health Foundation, Action, is a call to move beyond conversation and into commitment.
At PeoplePlus, we see the importance of this every day. Mental health sits at the heart of everything we do. Whether we are supporting someone to find work, helping a person rebuild their life after the criminal justice system, delivering education inside a prison, or helping unpaid carers stay well, we know that mental health is not a standalone issue.
It is woven into every aspect of how people cope, connect and contribute.
The gap between awareness and action is still too wide. As a country, we have made real progress in talking openly about mental health. The stigma, while still present, is loosening its grip. More people are willing and able to name what they are feeling. More employers are asking what they can do. But progress in conversation is not always matched by progress in access.
Every day, millions of people across the UK experience mental health challenges that don't meet clinical thresholds, yet still hold them back. Not 'ill enough' for specialist support, yet not well enough to flourish. Access is not only about availability; it is about timing, cultural appropriateness, affordability, and trust. It is about whether people feel safe asking for help in the first place, and whether support exists not only for those in clinical crisis, but for those struggling to cope with anxiety, loneliness and exhaustion.
Our systems still tend to activate at breaking point. The new model must build mental health capability everywhere, in workplaces, communities, and the everyday services that people turn to long before they reach a doctor's waiting room.
Social recruitment, employment, and mental health are inseparable
At PeoplePlus, we are proud to be the home of the Social Recruitment Advocacy Group (SRAG) and the Social Recruitment Covenant, both rooted in the belief that who you hire, how you hire, and how you support people once they're in work are not just commercial decisions, they are social value decisions.
Employment is one of the most powerful determinants of mental health. A stable job provides purpose, routine, income, and connection. But the route into work for many of the people we support is not straightforward. People with experience of the justice system, those with long-term health conditions, young people locked out of opportunity, carers: all face barriers that compound over time and have a direct effect on mental wellbeing.
That is why the Social Recruitment Covenant and employer decision making matter in the context of Mental Health Awareness Week. When employers commit to inclusive hiring, remove barriers, design roles accessibly and create psychologically safe workplaces, they help create the conditions for better mental health outcomes across society.
What 'action' looks like inside PeoplePlus
Internally, we have invested in building the kind of proactive culture that we advocate for externally. We have five peer support groups, including one focused on mental health. We have reinvigorated our Mental Health First Aider programme, shifting to include proactive, preventative approaches. Shaped by the insight and involvement of our colleagues, the programme now works alongside flexible working, digital wellbeing tools, and peer-led networks, because we believe support should be visible, accessible, and in place not only at crisis point.
What we're asking employers to do this week
If you are an employer reading this, here is what action looks like in practical terms:
- Audit your hiring process. Are there points where people with mental health histories are disadvantaged unnecessarily?
- Look at your onboarding and retention. Are line managers equipped to have wellbeing conversations early? Consider signing the Social Recruitment Covenant. It is a commitment to hiring people who face barriers, and a signal to your whole workforce that you take inclusion seriously.
- Talk to your teams. Not just this week, every week. Mental health is embedded in the way organisations operate, whether acknowledged or not. It is shaped by culture, leadership, recruitment, workload, trust and whether people feel secure and supported at work. Building healthier workplaces takes consistent action, shared responsibility and a willingness to take these issues seriously over time.
This Mental Health Awareness Week, PeoplePlus fully supports the Action theme. Awareness has helped people speak more openly, and that matters. But what people remember, often years later, is whether someone noticed, whether someone asked, and whether support was actually there when they needed it. The next step is continuing to build workplaces and systems that make those moments possible, all year round.
About Marina Cadman
Marina Cadman is Head of Wellbeing at PeoplePlus. Drawing on her personal and professional experience across direct care, systems advocacy, and service design, she leads PeoplePlus's approach to proactive, prevention-first wellbeing for colleagues, participants, and employer partners alike.
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May 11, 2026Posted by:
