Jewish mental health charity expects ‘tsunami’ of referrals after lockdown
Jami has moved its mental health support provision online and supplied tablets to service users with no online access
The community’s leading mental health charity is expecting a “tsunami” of new referrals once lockdown restrictions are lifted, its chief executive revealed.
Jami’s Laurie Rackind said the charity is already planning for a possible spike in demand from new service users due to the effects of the pandemic.
“The immediate reaction was an increase in demand for support from our existing service users with heightened anxiety and feelings of isolation, but now we are seeing an increase in demand with new referrals,” the executive wrote in the latest issue of the Jewish News to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.
“100 percent of new referrals to Jami since March are as a result of a reaction to the pandemic – we are expecting and planning for the ‘tsunami’,” he later added.
Jami has moved its mental health support provision online, including its education programme and the peer support worker-led sessions normally held at its Head Room Café.
The charity has also delivered tablets and other pieces of equipment to service users with no online access, so they can receive support remotely.
It has delivered more than 500 meals to service users’ homes identified as being most at risk or in need of a lifeline of human contact.
Figures released by the charity, show it has experience a 55 percent increase in the total of hours of support delivered to service users.
Since the beginning of April, 315 Jami service users have received over 700 hours of support over the phone – up from 245 users and 369 hours in the six weeks leading up to the pandemic.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
