Our history & achievements
Mind in Harrow is proud to have serviced the local community for 50 years.
50,000
people have accessed our mental health information services
95%
people would recommend our services to a friend
10,000
people have accessed our talking therapies services
85%
people report we have supported their mental health recovery
4,500
young people have accessed our mental wellbeing workshops
3,000
employees have been trained in mental health awareness
6,000
people have attended our educational courses
3,000
people have engaged with 7 projects with faith & BME communities in the last decade
100
volunteers give 1,000 hours of their time each year
1969-1989: How Mind in Harrow started
Three decades snapshot
In 1969 Mind in Harrow registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.
Not much is recorded about their first 20 years. The organisation may have been founded originally by a local psychiatrist and was run entirely by a team of around 20 very dedicated volunteers. Towards the end of the 1980’s ran a range of drop-in services at Atkins House, the site of the NHS community mental health tam, and started a telephone information line for part of the week.
1989-1999: Decade snapshot
By around 1993 over 25 years ago, Mind in Harrow ran four services: Befriending, Information, Advocacy and Drop-in Services supporting around 500 people per year. Three part-time staff were employed, based in the NHS community mental health team site and a clinic in Kenton. Around 40 volunteers supported the running of the services. In 1995, the Brent & Harrow Health Authority decided to invest in the development of local charities, including Mind in Harrow. Full-time Director and Administrator posts were funded to grow the organisation as a professional service provider. Income was £100,000 per annum.
1999-2009: Decade snapshot
Mind in Harrow increased to run additional services, expanding the Befriending, Drop-ins and Stepping Stones education and leisure services. 13 mainly part-time staff supported up to 2,000 people per year. Around 60 volunteers supported the running of services. The organisation started new projects such as a specialist mental health project for refugees and asylum seekers and a counselling service. The main office was relocated to a central Harrow location on College Road. Income grew from £360,000 to £550,000.
2009-2019: Mind in Harrow after 50 years snapshot
During this decade, Mind in Harrow has been affected by the national austerity programme, as £100,000 of core public funding has been cut. From 2014 they launched a new strategy to diversify income sources from charity shops, training delivery and developing property.
Despite these challenges, the organisation has grown to expand psychology services, develop new projects for ethnic minority communities, a new training project and started to provide a service for young people for the first time. The User Involvement Project ran successful campaigns to prevent cuts to the Discretionary Freedom Pass and Council Tax Support. An online mental health directory was launched directory.mindinharrow.org.uk receiving 1,000 visits per month.
In 2019 Mind in Harrow has 30 staff providing 12 services for around 4,500 people. Over 100 volunteers give 7,000 hours of support. Income has reached £1M per annum.
