Community Listening Ears: Mental Health in Newham

Through a grassroots led community engagement project, Community Listening Ears, Healthwatch Newham aimed to collect feedback from residents about their experiences of mental health across three areas: relationships, long-term conditions, and the cost-of-living crisis. 

On mental health and relationships, 34 participants took part in a one-hour focus group, and nine participated in 10-minute semi-structured interviews. People reported their mental health had negatively affected their relationships, feeling lonelier after the pandemic, and that there might be barriers to getting support. 

One mental health and long-term conditions, 14 people took part in 10 minute semi-structured interviews and 3 took part in a focus group. People reported that having a long-term condition had detrimentally affected their mental health; 82% felt that their long-term condition affected their enjoyment of activities; and 71% had a positive sentiment towards talking to others with long-term health conditions. 

On the cost of living, 13 took part in semi-structured interviews and 25 joined a focus group. 89% felt that they'd lost a sense of financial security, and 87% were aware of the support available to them.