Today the Department of Health and Comic Relief announced £20 million to fight mental health stigma.

The Government is joining forces with Comic Relief and mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness to help tackle mental health stigma and discrimination in the South East. This follows a recent survey, which found that 80 per cent of people with mental health issues in the region have experienced stigma and discrimination related to their condition.

To help put a stop to this, the Government and Comic Relief have announced up to £20 million of funding for the England-wide Time to Change programme - run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Time to Change runs events and campaigns in the South East such as bringing people with and without mental health problems together to work on community allotments.

This is the first time that the Time to Change programme has received Government funding – up to £16 million. It will also receive £4 million from Comic Relief – the second time the charity has awarded Time to Change its largest UK grant.

The funding will help Time to Change continue its work until March 2015 and help change attitudes and behaviours on a mass scale, empowering individuals to tackle discrimination across all sectors and communities.

It will fund the next phase of this highly successful programme, including testing new approaches to tackling mental health stigma and discrimination amongst children and young people, and specific work with the African Caribbean community.

To find out more about the Time To Change Campaign click here.