Key areas for action
Build community services > issues
Studies have shown that social contact is associated with improved recovery rates for people with severe mental illness.1
Even after recovery, quality of life continues to be poor for many people with severe mental illness if they suffer from social isolation and stigma.2
- Community services such as sheltered housing and training centres are critical to enable the social inclusion of people with severe mental illness.
- Community services can facilitate preventative care and outreach to those who might otherwise be hard to reach.
- They are also critical for monitoring compliance with medication, risks of relapse and prevention of suicide.
- Community services are underdeveloped across all European countries.
- Services tend to be funded by NGOs or private initiatives and thus suffer from chronic funding shortages.
- Services tend to be concentrated in cities, with very poor availability in rural areas.