The Leicestershire Action for Mental Health Project (Lamp) charity has formed a new partnership with Anglian Water to run a community survey for residents in Rutland and Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, throughout August and September.

The survey is the first charity-business initiative that looks at improving community-based mental health support services in Leicestershire and Rutland.

The online survey aims to reduce the stresses on individuals' mental health that stem from financial issues or the difficulties they face in accessing professional mental health appointments. It is designed to provide help, raise awareness, and offer information and guidance on accessing the services that are available to people in need.

In particular, the survey aims to learn if customers are aware of Anglian Water's Priority Services Register, which is a free support service to help people in vulnerable situations.

Lamp and Anglian Water will work with local councils to issue the survey to residents through newsletters, while plans are being prepared to set up stalls at local markets and events throughout September in Rutland and Melton Mowbray. Community organisations have been approached to host focus groups on mental health support and gather feedback on mental health needs within the community to learn how Lamp can better support residents.

Businesses or community groups that would like either Lamp or Anglian Water representatives to attend an event, host a mental health focus group, plan to set up a safe space for discussions on mental health or want more information on Lamp's or Anglian Water's services, can get in touch via [email protected].

Once the survey's data is compiled, Lamp and Anglian Water will track trends and change over time, identify gaps in service provision and come up with improvements.

The survey can be found here.

Matt Barton, Lamp's Corporate and Community Engagement Officer said: "We want to raise awareness of the Priority Services Register to help anyone who is facing a difficult financial position due to the cost of living crisis, along with carers who are struggling to manage admin tasks on behalf of their loved ones. We also want to raise awareness of Lamp's mental health advocacy, help people in need access mental health services, find out what's preventing people from reaching out and support them in overcoming the barriers to seeking help.

"The survey will help to shape our understanding of the current availability of mental health support in the area and shed light on the support services that people need. We hope it will contribute to the delivery of meaningful changes that will benefit everyone."

Anglian Water's Customer Services Partnership Manager, Beth Kennedy, added: "We are always exploring ways we can better support our customers. That's why we're proud to be working in partnership with Lamp to help support our customers who may be living with a mental health condition.

"To be able to work with a charity like Lamp - with valuable connections to local communities - offers us the opportunity to really understand what our customers need from us as their water provider. We are hoping to understand what barriers our customers living with mental health conditions face when communicating with us and how we can help increase awareness of our free support services, such as our Priority Services Register, amongst the community."  

Find out more and fill in the survey on the Lamp website.