On the 27th January, MHM celebrated 35 years since we were founded! To mark the occasion, we've rounded up 35 facts you might not know about us...

1. MHM was previously known as the Northern Schizophrenia Fellowship until 1994, as we started life as a north-east office of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship.
2. Carers of people with severe and enduring mental illness created the organisation.
3. Although we were founded in Newcastle and our head office is still based in the north-east, we run services across England from Northumberland to Plymouth and across to Kent! See a map of all our services here.
4. Our first services were based in Newcastle with 26 self help groups, 1 half-day per week out of hours service (New Way Out Club), 1 registered care home (Percy Road) and 1 day service (Rosehill Day Centre).
5. The organisation changed its name to Mental Health Matters in 1994, as we branched out from specialising in schizophrenia to supporting a wider range of mental health problems. 
6. Our first national service was in Bristol – in partnership with Bristol Workways.
7. We were part of the pilot of the first Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service in Newham.
8. Following that successful pilot, MHM have been delivering IAPT services since 2008 – we celebrated 10 years of these services in December 2018!
9. Today, we are the largest third sector supplier of NICE-approved CBT-based interventions. MHM is the only non-NHS organisation to be a prime provider of IAPT services at steps 2-4. All of our IAPT services employ (or train up to) NICE and IAPT compliant, qualified PWPs, HiTs and Counsellors.
10. MHM currently has 50 different services, and we’re growing all the time to reach and support more people in need.
11. To deliver those services we currently work with 36 commissioners and 14 delivery partners. We have a long history of partnership working; MHM were part of ACCEPT, a programme funded by ESF that enabled organisational learning and development with partners from many parts of Europe, and in 1999 MHM hosted a European Conference in York attended by speakers and representatives of over 12 countries.
12. We're very proud that our helpline service is accredited by the Helplines Partnership, the membership body for organisations that provide helpline services which promotes excellence, choice and accessibility.
13. MHM has provided training to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), creating mental health training materials for all of their job coaches across the country.
14. MHM has 8 Trustees; you can read more about them here.
15. Did you know you can leave a message for Helen, our CEO, on our website? Just visit our ‘Talk to Helen’ page.
16. 32,000 people accessed our talking therapies (IAPT) services last year.
17. MHM are one of the few organisations who provide their clients with an e-learning resource. This offers online modules on topics such as employability, health and safety and personal development, to provide people with the additional knowledge and skills they need to succeed.
18. Since we launched this e-learning resource in June 2017, 132 of our clients have benefitted from using it.
19. MHM are Investors in People (IiP) accredited, meaning that we invest in our staff to ensure they fulfil their potential and help the charity remain sustainable and effective.
20. MHM have received several awards in recent years from Positive Practice in Mental Health, most recently for Partnership Working.
21. MHM currently employ around 340 staff!
22. Helen Mackay, our CEO, started working with the charity in 1987 and has been with the organisation for an amazing 32 years.
23. Our helpline handled 53,000 calls in 2018; February was our busiest month, with 4,695 calls.
24. We deliver training to many of different organisations around the UK to help them to support the mental health of their staff. You can read more about what we offer on our corporate training page. Last year we delivered training to 6 organisations over 23 sessions, to a total of 302 people, to improve mental health skills in businesses across UK. This year that number is set to be even bigger!
25. MHM is a Disability Confident Employer, meaning we are part of a voluntary government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. (It replaced the previous Two Ticks Positive About Disabled People scheme.)
26. MHM has a turnover of around £11 million each year; all of this money goes directly into our charitable activities.
27. In December last year our Twitter account @MHM_Info reached an amazing 1,500 followers, and continues to grow! Check it out to see the latest news and advice from our various services.
28. In 2017-2018, we provided a total of 73 units of supported accommodation for people who need additional support to live independently. 
29. An average of 460 people use our advocacy services every month.
30. Since it launched last year, the team running our crisis service The Haven @ 30 Clarence Street in York have been told by nine people that the support we gave them helped them to overcome their suicidal feelings. This is just the number that we know for certain – every day, the support we provide to people at The Haven helps them to stay well, cope with mental ill-health and feel hopeful.
31. We have 12 helpline services providing emotional support across the country, 9 of which are available 24/7.
32. We also offer our 24/7 web chat service Time Online in several areas. To find out whether our helpline runs in your area, visit the helpline page.  
33. MHM was an early adopter of the Mindful Employer scheme, which encourages employers to support mental wellbeing at work.
34. The oldest person currently accessing our services is 92!
35. Our oldest service turns 30 this year – can you guess the service? Tweet us @MHM_Info...

Read more about our history