The Impact of Digital Volunteers on Mental Health across the UK

A new report from our parent charity Mental Health Innovations showcases the incredible impact that digital volunteers - many of which are Shout Volunteers - are having not only on the people we support, but on wider communities and society too.

The report, titled: 'Digital Volunteers: Connecting Communities and Scaling Support Across The Nation' was developed from our yearly volunteer survey. Nearly 800 volunteers responded to this year's survey, which asks volunteers to share their experiences, with overwhelmingly positive results.

This latest report looks into how MHI is able to offer scalable, wide-spread support to people across the UK with their mental health, through its bespoke technology platform and clinical training, as well as how our volunteers are taking the skills and knowledge they’ve gained into the offline world too. They’re having better conversations with colleagues, friends and family, while becoming more engaged listeners and looking to continue to develop their skillset with career changes and study in the mental health field.

At a time when mental health support is needed more than ever, the ripple effect that our volunteers have can be positively felt across society.

The benefits of volunteering can be felt by our volunteers too, with 94% telling us they have a greater sense of wellbeing and 97% saying they had more confidence. Furthermore, 100% of volunteers told us volunteering had enhanced their active listening skills, while nearly half (49%) of Shout Volunteers told us they were inspired to change careers.

One thing that’s been at the heart of responses from this year’s survey, is the incredibly empathetic community of people that make up our volunteers. When asked why they signed up to volunteer, overwhelmingly people told us it was to help others.