Sane is a Mental health charity that supports people affected with Mental illness around the UK to improve their quality of life.
Its History
The charity was founded in 1986 by Marjorie Wallace CBE. She decided to found SANE after she, as a journalist, wrote an article in the Times called The Forgotten Illness. This article provoked a massive public response as it exposed how society neglected people and families affected by mental illness. It also showed how little information, treatments, and strategies for preventing mental illness there was.
Its Vision
SANE’s vision is to help create a world without prejudice or stigma around mental illness. SANE believes getting rid of stigma and discrimination against mental illness is one of the significant challenges facing society.
Since the founding of SANE, many things around mental health have changed, such as the general publics’ obliviousness to mental health. This change has occurred due to public awareness and anti-stigma campaigns run by SANE and other mental health charities.
Sane’s Aims
SANE has three main aims that it works towards, to reach its final goal of helping get rid of the stigma around mental illness and helping those struggling with mental health.
The first main aim is to raise awareness and education to eliminate the stigma around mental health issues and improve mental health services.
The next main aim is to emotionally support those with mental illness, using their online support forum and through the specialist services SANE provides, which are its helpline, email support, and text care.
The final main aim is to encourage and host research into the causes of mental illness and the effectiveness of therapies and treatments.
What services does SANE offer?
SANE aims to help those struggling with their mental health. With this aim in mind, SANE has services you can use when you believe you need them.
Helpline (SANEline)
SANE’s helpline, otherwise known as SANEline, is a mental health helpline that runs from 4:30m to 10:30 pm every day of the year. These working hours make it easier for most people who work from morning to late afternoon.
This helpline offers specialist emotional support and gives guidance and information to those affected by mental illness. Those affected by mental illness are not just those with the mental illness but also people like friends, family and carers.
This helpline’s sole purpose is to support people affected by mental illness, especially those who feel they have reached a moment of crisis.
With this in mind, the helpline’s trained volunteers aim to be both empathic and non-judgemental so they can provide a comfortable time and space for you to discuss your mental health.
This service is not for those under 16. So going to a helpline for your age group like Childline is recommended.
Text care
SANE created this text care service to provide emotional support when you need it most. This text care service sends a custom one-way message to your mobile phone to help you when you need it.
To get the message, you need to give them the information they need on a form that you need to submit 72 hours (3 days) before the time you want to receive the message. The person who fills out the document should be the one who needs to receive the message. They also limit the number of message requests to once every seven days. You cannot sign up or be signed up for by anyone else.
Text care is not for those in crisis or who need support urgently.
Email support
SANE’s email support service is available for those who feel it is easier or more comfortable to write down how they are feeling or what support they want. You usually get a response from a volunteer to your email within 24 hours.
For some, email support can be a good way of seeing how you deal with the kind of support SANE offers, and you can find out more about SANE. If you do not like email support, you are encouraged to request a call or try the helpline.
People like carers who cannot answer the phone or may not have privacy to talk can use the email service without any issue as you can answer and respond when you want, but you can also not have to speak at all so no one can eavesdrop.
The emailing service can also be very convenient for some as you can re-read what the SANE volunteer has written. So you can re_read it to reassure you during difficult moments.
Are the Services SANE provides confidential?
All contact with the SANE is confidential except in certain situations where they have to by law. By law, they have to break confidentiality and tell someone your information if they have been told something that makes them believe someone under 18 or a vulnerable adult is at risk.
The volunteer does not know your name unless you tell it to them. The only information they know is relevant to how you contact them, so if you are using text care, they know your mobile phone number.
Sane will consider sharing your information with agencies if you share something that makes them think:
- Someone is being hurt
- your or someone else’s life is in danger
- You have or plan to harm someone else.
- If you ask them to contact someone as you are being hurt, in trouble or have hurt someone.
For people under 18, they may also share information with agencies if:
- They are concerned that your mental health is poor and you are in a crisis without support.
- They are worried that you could get seriously hurt or are having suicidal thoughts and may act on them.
How else does SANE help those struggling with their mental health?
SANE also uses other ways to support those affected by mental health issues, such as their Online community called the SANE community. On the Sane community, you can see posts and be part of a community of those you can relate to.
They also Campaign to raise awareness, improve mental health services, influence mental health policy, and combat the stigma and discrimination those affected with mental illness suffer from due to ignorance.
If you are affected by mental illness, visit SANE’s Website.
If you believe you have a Mental illness, contact your GP.
