Our vision

MindWell aims to make Leeds a mentally healthy and caring city where everyone enjoys a full life, feels connected, and has easy access to mental health support and advice.

What do we mean by a ‘mentally healthy city’?

“Being a mentally healthy city means that more people will feel comfortable talking about their mental health and that everyone, whoever they are, however they identify, and wherever they live, will be able to access good quality mental health services when they need them. It also means that Leeds will be a place where the conditions in which people are born, grow up, and grow older, support good mental health and wellbeing. This includes taking action to reduce poverty and the impact of poverty.”

Leeds Mental Health Strategy 2020 to 2025

Our mission

We want to remove the barriers to accessing mental health and wellbeing support in Leeds – focusing on helping those who need it most.

We’re here to:

  • help everyone understand their options and find support when they need it.
  • ensure everyone has the best tools and information for caring for their mental health and wellbeing, whatever their needs.
  • listen and to encourage open and understanding conversations about mental health, free from stigma, discrimination and prejudice.

Our values

Our decisions and behaviours are guided by 3 core values:

We care

Everything we do is about helping people. We take a ‘holistic’ and ‘trauma-informed’ approach to mental health, asking ‘what happened to you?’ instead of ‘what’s wrong with you?’.

We help people to understand their mental health challenges and to live positive, mentally healthy lives.

We are always compassionate and caring, supportive and inclusive.

This looks like:

  • Listening to what people have to say with empathy and without judgment.
  • Considering accessibility early and often.
  • Being inclusive in everything we do.
  • Caring about our roles and the part we play.
  • Being person-centered and treating people as individuals.
  • Seeing people as a whole and looking for their strengths.
  • Keeping up-to-date with ways we can help people.

We have integrity

People can trust MindWell. Our information and advice are co-designed with mental health professionals and people with lived experience, ensuring trustworthiness and accuracy.

It’s a continuing conversation and we constantly review our services and content to make sure they’re always relevant and reliable.

This looks like:

  • Making sure the information we provide is accurate and up-to-date.
  • Not rushing the co-design process and listening to different voices.
  • Not overpromising – only committing to what we can realistically do.
  • Avoiding risk wherever possible.
  • Respecting confidentiality, not sharing personal information without permission.
  • Behaving authentically and compassionately with good communication.
  • Being considerate about how we use our time and resources.
  • Continuing to develop as a team, including improving our anti-racist and inclusivity practices.

We value community

We believe good mental health is a basic human right and commit to making mental health support accessible for everyone in Leeds.

We listen to and value the experiences, strengths and expertise of people in our diverse communities.

This looks like:

  • Recognising community as a protective factor for good mental health.
  • Valuing community life and the lives of the people who live there.
  • Facilitating, streamlining and strengthening links between individuals and community and voluntary support.
  • Continuing to develop our offline offer – building relationships and having conversations with everyone touched by mental health.
  • Working with grassroots organisations and listening to what they have to say.
  • Understanding mental health data and statistics so we can focus on helping those most in need.
  • Making our resources as widely accessible as possible and encouraging widespread distribution.
  • Asking who’s missing from the conversation.

Priorities for the next 5 years

  • Quality – Provide high-quality, up-to-date information reflecting the latest mental health and wellbeing advice.
  • Accessibility – Ensure information is easy to browse, understand, and find.
  • Inclusion – Making information available to all, meeting health, digital literacy, accessibility, and cultural needs.
  • Working together – Bridge the digital and real-world divide, tackle digital exclusion, and develop links with communities and grassroots organisations.
  • Prevention and recovery – Support people throughout their lives with a compassionate, non-judgmental, and trauma-informed approach.
  • Growth – Developing a sustainable, financially secure organisation that integrates with other systems in Leeds.

Goals for 2025-2026

This year, MindWell is focusing on strengthening our foundations so we can keep supporting mental health and wellbeing across Leeds in the most effective way. We’re prioritising sustainability, accessibility and collaboration – making sure we do the most we can with the resources we have.

Our aims for this phase of the project are to:

  • Make our work more sustainable
    We’re improving how we manage content and internal processes so we can make the best use of our capacity – including exploring ways volunteers might be able to help.
  • Strengthen our content governance
    We’re embedding consistent standards across all our content in line with PIF TICK criteria – the UK’s quality mark for trusted health information.
  • Keep our website accurate and up to date
    We’re reviewing and streamlining key pages, running regular link checks, and maintaining an accessible, reliable service directory.
  • Support people in signposting roles
    We’re improving our resources and tools for professionals and volunteers to help them confidently signpost others to the right support.
  • Build stronger partnerships
    We’re deepening collaboration with the NHS, third-sector services and local government to embed MindWell more fully into the Leeds mental health system.
  • Showcase our impact
    We’re improving how we measure and share MindWell’s reach and effectiveness through better data and engagement insights.
  • Make it easier to find support
    We’re working to improve navigation and user journeys so people can find relevant mental health information more easily.
  • Stay connected to what’s happening locally
    We’re capturing and sharing new and emerging services and community initiatives across Leeds.
  • Prepare for the NHS 10 Year Plan
    We’re focusing on clearly communicating MindWell’s value as part of the Leeds mental health landscape.
  • Embed trauma-informed principles
    We’re continuing to take a trauma-informed approach across our content, engagement and strategy.

To make sure we can deliver the biggest impact within our current capacity, we’re also strategically pausing or streamlining some areas of work. These areas remain important to us – but won’t be a core focus this year.