
Throughout Somerset, OMH grant-funded projects offer our communities support, companionship and hope. Here, we look at the impact of just three of these initiatives.
Yeovil Art Space: Creativity for Wellbeing Community Workshops
Yeovil Art Space (YAS) is a creative-driven organisation enriching the local community with authentic and relevant art and culture. It is a hub where creatives and broader audiences build connections and collaborations promoting wellbeing and social improvement.
YAS strongly emphasises collaboration and co-creation. It aims to offer accessible and innovative artistic activities to Yeovil’s residents and visitors and to support artists, young people, and the community in improving their creative skills through education and shared experiences.
To this end, YAS applied for funding from Open Mental Health to run workshops and activities in collaboration with partners across Yeovil.
Through this cooperative effort, the workshops engaged with:
- patients on the ‘ready to go’ wards at Yeovil Hospital
- people facing housing problems and homelessness
- migrants and people seeking refuge
- an LGBTQ+ peer-support group advocating for equality and diversity
- young adults with learning disabilities, mental ill-health, and other associated challenges
The workshops explored ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ themes and involved collaboration with local artists. Activities that included printing techniques, crocheting, woodcuts, and other artistic methods, successfully enhanced participants’ wellbeing and boosted self-confidence.

Glastonbury Mental Health Network: Training and Buddying Scheme
Glastonbury Mental Health Network connects local people with projects, practitioners, services and events that support and improve mental health and wellbeing.
At the root of GMHN’s work is the understanding that while we can all experience suffering, we can also thrive. They offer information and guidance about professional and peer support to help anyone struggling with their mental health on their recovery journey.
By building links between people with a professional or personal interest in mental health, GMHN creates opportunities for networking and sharing ideas and resources. They aim to break down the stigma surrounding mental health and promote a culture of openness around our mental wellbeing.
To better respond to the needs of the Glastonbury community, GMHN decided to develop a training and buddying scheme and applied for an Open Mental Health grant.
With the help of Open Mental Health funding, they made their vision a reality and delivered a project that helps with isolation, increases social prescribing and widens their team of volunteers.
The grant enabled GMHN to:
- recruit new volunteers and create a volunteer pack including application forms, policies and procedures
- provide mental health first-aid and signposting training
- make DBS applications
- secure an NHS supervisor to support volunteers every month
- connect with a local GP
- identify potential service users
- support volunteers experiencing mobility/transport issues
SARSAS: Creative Minds
SARSAS (Somerset and Avon rape and sexual abuse support) helps people affected by rape, sexual assault or abuse at any time in their lives. The charity runs innovative support services, local and national projects and a helpline assisting the survivors of any kind of sexual abuse.
SARSAS received an OMH grant to fund the Creative Minds project in Taunton—an 8-week course designed and facilitated by a survivor leader and supported by a SARSAS group facilitator. The course provided a safe space for women to come together to discover new ways of expressing themselves creatively as they move forward after sexual violence. The group explored art, creative writing, and animation and created a time-lapse video.
Nine clients attended the course. At its conclusion, every participant reported feeling less isolated, better motivated and more empowered. 80% of participants described improved mood and wellbeing after joining the group.
Attendees provided the following feedback:
“It was good knowing we are all here for similar reasons, not having to mention it. Just being ‘united”.
“Enjoyed meeting other people. Being able to get involved with creative processes to break up the anxiety”.
“It’s given me a less destructive outlet by being creative”.
OMH Grants: Supporting Our Communities
Open Mental Health grants play a vital role in enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of Somerset residents. Funding from OMH supports the work of smaller organisations whose initiatives improve services through collaboration and community involvement.
Grants are awarded to address the needs of adults facing mental health challenges, with particular attention to underserved groups, members of the older community at risk of isolation, individuals with substance use disorders, those with neurodevelopmental disorders, people at risk of self-harm, individuals dealing with trauma, people with personality disorders, and those affected by eating disorders.
In the initial three months of delivery alone, grants amounting to £218,511 supported twenty-six projects benefiting over 950 people.
To learn more about Open Mental Health-supported initiatives, explore our grant funding webpage and see which projects are near you.