A Message from Our CEO, Victoria Hornby
Over the past few months, we’ve been reflecting on the future of our organisation and the impact we want to have on the nation. This moment marks a new era for our charity as we scale up our reach and impact with the forthcoming launch of a new digital ecosystem and brand new products and services to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people and adults across the UK. I’m excited to embark on this new chapter and to introduce a new mission for Mental Health Innovations. We are also delighted to unveil refreshed branding for MHI.
Evolution of the digital mental health space
Since launching in 2017, the landscape has been changing, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. There have been significant shifts in the mental health sector, encompassing changes in public attitudes, increased understanding of the vital importance of digital mental health support, advances in technology, and policy reforms.
What’s more, over the past eight years, our own organisation has developed deep learning, clinical expertise and market experience, enabling us to serve incredible numbers of beneficiaries, grow to a staff of 200 people, enhance our technological capabilities and greatly expand our offering. We have developed a vast dataset, giving us an incomparably deep evidence base and unparalleled insight into the nation’s mental health. Shout has reached the phenomenal milestone of giving digital support to one million people through more than three million conversations. In addition, we have supported the mental health of millions of young people through The Mix’s online offering for under-25s.
We have tangible proof of the unique role that Mental Health Innovations plays in providing vital early intervention across the UK and we are on the cusp of launching a raft of new products and services that will expand this support for millions more people. We have a wealth of data, clinical insight, and the experience and input of youth and user voice that sets us apart. Now is the time to refine how we articulate our identity and purpose and set a clear direction for the future.
Establishing our unique position
We bring innovation to the sector, harnessing the power of digital products and services to deliver mental health solutions at scale. We enhance the wellbeing of millions of children, young people and adults, making them feel connected and supported and empowering them with the tools to help themselves. Through early intervention, we make the greatest impact by addressing problems at a nascent stage, relieving pressure on traditional services. Through crisis support, we prevent suicides, saving lives every single day.
By training thousands of volunteers, we give people the skills and confidence to make a difference to the users of our services, and also to their own lives and to those of their families, friends and co-workers. We inspire people into education, training and careers, growing the mental health workforce and putting capacity into communities and into the sector.
Through digital delivery we have a unique dataset that helps us to understand mental health issues in real time and generate unique insights. We do this by deploying the most powerful new developments in data science, machine learning and generative AI. Our learnings help us not only refine our service offering and feed into the development of new product innovation, but also enable us to inform the sector, government, and the NHS, collaborating with others and realising a common purpose: to transform mental health nationwide.
At the heart of MHI’s rebrand is a refreshed mission:
We will deliver scalable, innovative digital services and insights to transform the mental health of the nation.
An exciting future ahead
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built so far, and, as we look forward to the launch of a brand new offering of digital support for young people later this spring, I’m very excited about what comes next. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey - the volunteers who are at the very heart of our service delivery, our partners, funders, supporters, staff, and most importantly, the people we serve, who have had the courage to reach out for support. We look forward to continuing this work together, with renewed clarity and purpose.
