SANE.org.uk

http://www.sane.org.uk/

Yes. As mentioned before I have found a charity to try and raise money for and I think this one is especially deserving given my own mental illness experiences and that of others very close to me. I definitely feel strongly about some of the attitudes in society that treat people with any of sort of mental illness with distrust and disapproval. I think that while there are obviously carers and professional people out there who take the welfare of their patients seriously, my experience has shown me that a lot of institutions are more than happy to ply people with medication and send them on their way. People close to me who have suffered from mental illness have received totally inadequate support from our health services and I find this is partly due to a large misunderstanding to what people's needs are.

Anyway, when I seen that raising awareness and providing help to people with mental illness are two of SANE's main goals, I thought they would be a great organisation to try to support an I very much hope I can convince you to feel the same way too.

In their own words:

SANE has three objectives:

• To raise awareness and respect for people with mental illness and their families and secure better services
• To undertake research into the causes of serious mental illness through The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research
• To provide help and information to those experiencing mental health problems, their families and carers throughSANEline and SANEmail.

Raising awareness

SANE campaigns to combat stigma and ignorance and improve care, giving nearly 400 interviews each year on national and local television and radio, generating hundreds of column inches in the press and participating in government and professional initiatives.

Major concerns highlighted by SANE have been the prevention of suicide and self-harm, the improverishment of psychiatric wards and services, the need for a better balance between rights in mental health law, and the link between cannabis and psychosis.

SANE's Art Awards have encouraged nearly 200 artists and writer with serious mental illness to explore their creative ability.

Undertaking research

In 2003 SANE opened The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research in Oxford. Under the guidance of Professor Tim Crow the centre aims to establish the causes of and better treatments forschizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and to act as an international forum, disseminating education, awareness and information to other scientists and the public.

Providing help

SANE's national telephone helpline, SANEline, was set up in 1992. SANEline volunteers currently handle an average of over 2000 calls every month from men, women and children affected by mental health problems as well as their carers and health professionals.

SANE's vision is to use its proven helpline expertise to reach many more people affected by mental illness, their families and friends. In 2007, SANEmail was launched. This new email support service provides vital online support to people who may find talking about their mental health problems difficult, or who perhaps can't use the phone because of a disability.

---

We cannot do this without your help and support so please consider making a donation or perhaps offering your time as a volunteer on SANEline or SANEmail.

I've also setup a page at Just Giving and added a widget to this blog so people can find it even easier to donate!

So that's all for now. I'm onstage in a couple of hours here at SARC, supporting Chris Corsano. I'm wearing my SANE t-shirt and hopefully there will be some video (and maybe some photos) to follow!