Happiness matters to our clients

How would you rate your mental wellbeing? Good? Bad? The truth is for most of us at some point in our lives we feel fine and at others we don't, maybe without realising why.

But for some people, mental illness is a regular and very serious fact of life. And if you're homeless you are up to 15 times more likely to suffer mental ill health.

In March, St Mungo's decided to look into the key issues around mental ill health and homelessness. Happiness Matters is a research project conducted amongst clients from a range of our projects. The results are to be launched on Monday 6 July at the House of Commons and available on our website.

Research has been conducted around mental ill health in the past. But what makes this project so special is that it was conducted by the very people who were its subject; 12 volunteer clients from St Mungo's projects.

Tackling a difficult subject

Happiness_Matters_femaleMental health encompasses a massive area and is a hard subject to study and understand. Often because of the stigma attached. People's lack of understanding about mental illness means that it remains a marginalised and hidden subject, and the people who suffer from a mental illness often do so in silence: around 35% of rough sleepers have a diagnosed mental health problem. However, 85% of those interviewed in the Happiness Matters research said they had experienced mental health problems.

Opening up

Peer-to-peer is a method of communicating that enables people to have a real say in what affects them. Martyn Warr was one of the volunteer interviewers for Happiness Matters.

"Clients speaking to fellow clients encourages them to open up. They feel more open and honest with their peers'".

Peer to Peer ResearchInterviewees were initially reluctant to open up to questions such as 'Would you say you have a mental health problem?' But after a while they did. And in the end were more than happy to share their thoughts and experiences, as Martyn experienced.

"The interviews were meant to take 20 minutes each but it was difficult to finish them in the end! Most took 40 minutes and one even lasted an hour and a half!"

What would you say is the worst you have ever felt?

Happiness MattersA question asked during the interviews. Answers such as "I felt so low and degraded living on the streets and taking drugs" and "I tried to kill myself because I came off my medication" give an insight into the state of minds of people living rough. It isn't just the most obvious psychiatric conditions that lead to people feeling like this. More common, everyday conditions such as anxiety and depression can seriously harm someone's mental well being and leave them feeling "really depressed, really badly".

Download the report:

Happiness Matters - Executive Summary

Happiness Matters - Full Report

We will be discussed during the evening of Monday 6 July at a Parliamentary reception at the House of Commons.

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