(Photo: Getty/iStock)
By Bishop Mick Fleming, Church on The Street
Like many others, I recently observed Mental Health Awareness Week. Reflecting on this, I believe it’s crucial to confront a major underlying cause of mental illness in the UK: the country’s severe poverty crisis.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner highlighted in a recent HuffPost article that “decent pay, a stable home, and a strong sense of community are essential for wellbeing and purpose.” While these are true, my daily work as a bishop and founder of the charity Church on The Street reveals a much harsher reality.
Years of austerity, the lasting effects of Covid-19 lockdowns, and cuts to public services have pushed many families into extreme hardship. Mothers lie awake fearing they cannot feed their children. Families share limited clothing and even a single toothbrush across generations. Parents often skip meals so their children can eat.
As Christians, we serve a God who cares deeply for the poor and vulnerable. Psalm 109 reminds us, “He stands at the right hand of the needy to save their lives,” and Psalm 113 declares, “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.”
Talking about mental health is important, but when essential social systems are dismantled by government cuts, meaningful change cannot happen. We have a Christian duty not only to speak but to act, as James 1:22 urges us to “be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.”
Our choices matter—how we vote, how we spend our resources, and how we use the gifts God has given us. We must work to lift those burdened by poverty and fight for justice. Isaiah 58:6-7 calls us to “loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, share food with the hungry, provide shelter for the homeless, and clothe the naked.”
Research from the Mental Health Foundation shows that people living in the lowest 20% income bracket are two to three times more likely to develop mental health problems than those in higher brackets. Basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing must be met before anyone can focus on future goals.
Yet, in the UK today, 354,000 people are homeless—including 151,000 children—according to Shelter. Food insecurity affects 13.6% of households, and 5.5% of people experience clothing poverty, even as £140 million worth of wearable clothes are discarded yearly.
In Burnley, where Church on The Street operates, I witness poverty’s devastating impact daily. The rise in destitution after years of welfare cuts has left many people desperate—eating from bins, struggling with addiction, and unable to manage basic needs like applying for benefits or attending medical appointments. This level of crisis is heartbreaking.
Unless the government prioritizes reducing poverty and homelessness, we cannot claim to be a compassionate society.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must take bold action to relieve suffering and pray for an end to destitution—a condition no one should face in 21st-century Britain.
About the Author:
Bishop Mick Fleming, recently consecrated at Church on The Street in Burnley and leader of the International Christian Church Network, is the author of Blown Away: From Drug Dealer to Life Bringer. His charity supports homeless individuals, those struggling with addiction, and people living in poverty.
