This Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May 2025), the theme is community. At the National Academy for Social Prescribing, we see how connection to community can be transformative for mental health and wellbeing.
In line with this year’s focus, we’re highlighting some of the inspiring stories from across our programmes that show how social prescribing brings people together through nature, movement, heritage and culture.
Initiatives like these don’t just support individual wellbeing – they help build healthier, more connected communities.
Unlocking the power of nature to improve mental health
It connects people to nature-based activities to support mental wellbeing, and helps build social bonds. From community gardening and local walking schemes to conservation volunteering, outdoor arts and culture, wild swimming and green gyms, nature-based activities can be an effective way to help people manage their mental health before reaching crisis point.
Supporting young minds
Mental health challenges can begin early in life, but so can support. Connected to Thrive offers a vision for the future in which social prescribing is embedded into children and young people’s care. Social prescribing has been an established part of NHS care for adults in England since 2019, with GPs able to refer patients to Social Prescribing Link Workers. However, it is far less advanced for children and young people, and the model is different.
Movement that matters
“In an era where mental health challenges are on the rise, and the need for community connection has never been greater,” Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi explains why more than 1,800 GP practices across the country are now ‘prescribing’ parkrun to their patients.
Parkrun is just one example of physical activity that offers more than just exercise. They’re vibrant social gatherings that promote both physical and mental health.
We are currently working with GP practices to help more people to get active – through identifying patients who would most benefit and running group activities that meet their needs.
Place and belonging
Our sense of self is often rooted in the places we come from. Heritage projects connect people to their local history, stories and traditions and help them to feel a sense of belonging to one another and their community.
In Great Yarmouth, a Heritage for Wellbeing group brought together a group of people looking to pursue a shared interest in heritage and improve their wellbeing, having been referred into the project through social prescribing.
Community hubs are local spaces where people can access a range of services, including through social prescribing. Gorton Monastery in Manchester is an example of how this can work, having been refurbished and reopened in 2007, it now acts as a place for the local community to access heritage, arts, culture and wellbeing activities all in one place.
Report
This is the final report from a year-long research project exploring the potential for greater community involvement in and leadership of social prescribing in England. The research concludes that sustainable investment in community development, capacity and resources is needed to enable community leadership of and involvement in social prescribing.
Note
Social prescribing can help people in crisis, and those with long-term conditions. The service also supports those in a caring role. It can address common mental health difficulties. These include, “loneliness, stress, mild to moderate depression, and anxiety”. This area requires further research, particularly for children and young people. But there is robust evidence to support the efficacy of social prescribing for mental health.
