In rapid response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the huge mental health toll faced by frontline and key workers, our service Shout joined Samaritans, Mind and Hospice UK in a unique cross-sector charity partnership to create Our Frontline.
With the support of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, this pioneering charity coalition launched in April 2020 to bring together mental health services from all four partners, enabling every frontline and key worker in the UK to access 24/7 emotional support.
Our impact
- Shout has taken 24,275 text conversations with frontline workers
- 89% of texters said that the service was helpful to them
- Anxiety or stress (52%) were the main concerns mentioned by texters, followed by Covid-19 (37%), depression or sadness (27%), relationships (15%), isolation (15%), suicide (14%) and grief (5%)
- Texters contacted Shout because they: wanted to talk to someone who didn't know them (52%); were more comfortable texting than talking about private things (48%); didn't have anyone else to talk to (32%); were too embarrassed to talk to someone in person or on the phone (26%); or didn't have access to a therapist (23%)
Telephone helpline support was provided by our partner services:
- Hospice UK’s trauma and counselling helpline has taken 743 calls, mainly from nurses and mental health support workers
- Samaritans has received 26,000 calls from health and social care workers
Our reach
Through a dedicated online portal hosted by Mind, frontline and key workers were able to access a range of toolkits, support and resources tailored to their profession. The support pages were viewed 277,000 times, with 9 in 10 visitors telling us that they found the resources helpful.
Social media accounts were set-up to build a community of frontline and key workers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and to drive this audience to the website for further support.
The campaign launched with coordinated communications across all partner channels, supported by Kensington Palace, and social media activity continued throughout the campaign.
A number of influencers also engaged with the campaign on social media to help reach more frontline and key workers, including Fearne Cotton, Geraint Thomas, Hussain Manawer, Adele Roberts and Rachel Clarke.
Our social media reach:
- 8,000+ followers on social media
- 7,000,000+ impressions
- 328,000 engagements
'Take a Deep Breath' campaign
'Take a Deep Breath' was a cross-media advertising campaign, designed to connect frontline workers, particularly care and health staff, with services run by the charities behind Our Frontline.
The campaign was funded by NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and Hospice UK, with pro bono graphics work provided by creative agency And Rising. The campaign reached more than 30 million people.
'Take a Deep Breath' campaign asset
What's next?
The Our Frontline campaign came to a close in November 2021, however the partner organisations remain committed to supporting frontline and key workers. Mental health and wellbeing support remains accessible through a range of sources including the following:
- The Mental Health at Work website, where people can access support and information, including extensive online resources and signposting to a range of services for employees. This includes all the Our Frontline toolkits
- Shout, Samaritans and Hospice UK's text and telephone helplines remain accessible to all frontline and key workers
- Mind continues to support emergency responders through their new hub for mental health information and support - Blue Light Together. Emergency workers can also contact Shout by texting the word 'BLUELIGHT' to 85258