The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute wants these stats to provoke change.
The charity is urging the government to ensure that people with mental illness are protected from aggressive debt collection, and are provided support from banks when it comes to saving and spending.
Helen Undy, chief executive of Money and Mental Health, said: ‘When you’re struggling with your mental health it can be much harder to stay in work or manage your spending, while being in debt can cause huge stress and anxiety – so the two issues feed off each other, creating a vicious cycle which can destroy lives.
‘Yet despite how connected these problems are, financial services rarely think about our mental health, and mental health services rarely consider what’s happening with our money.
‘The government has an opportunity to use its upcoming Consumer White Paper to introduce minimum standards that people with mental health problems can expect across essential services like energy and banking, to ensure that they get a fair deal.
‘That should include help to avoid problem debt, and better protection from aggressive debt collection practices when it does happen.
‘And ensuring that money advice is routinely offered to people using mental health services would increase recovery rates, as well as improving the financial wellbeing of the 1.5 million people currently dealing with this terrifying combination of problems.’
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