Introducing our 'Insight into the mental health of rural communities' report

This research began following the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Report into Rural Mental Health in 2023, which was unable to draw many conclusions due to substantial gaps in data.

By attending county shows across the country and surveying 120 people living in rural communities across England, we've developed our understanding of the challenges faced by people living in rural and farming communities.

Key findings:

Our recommendations:

• Re-establish the role of Minister for Loneliness, with the additional responsibilities to tackle isolation.
• Create a rural isolation fund to allow services to offset the isolation challenges in rural communities through grant funding.
• Adopt Safe Haven/Crisis Cafe models as best practice and provide the frameworks and funding needed to support the rollout nationally
• Recognise the importance of hybrid models of support for rural communities in policy-making decisions.
• Create a Rural Mental Health Expert Reference Group to address the mental health challenges in rural communities

Read the report

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out our survey.