May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an important moment in the calendar. It encourages open conversations, raises awareness and helps reduce stigma. But it also presents an opportunity to ask a more challenging question: who is still struggling to access support?
While progress has been made, mental health support is not experienced equally. Certain groups continue to face additional barriers, whether stigma, lack of representation, cultural misunderstanding or practical access challenges.
For people of colour, conversations around mental health can still carry stigma shaped by cultural expectations or past experiences with services. For LGBTQ+ communities, mental health challenges are often compounded by discrimination, identity pressures or a lack of safe spaces.
And for men, barriers remain just as significant. Despite growing awareness of men’s mental health challenges, many still feel unable to speak openly, often delaying support until they reach crisis point.
For HR leaders, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. We know that a one-size-fits-all approach to wellbeing is no longer enough. Supporting diverse teams requires intentional, inclusive strategies which recognise different lived experiences and create environments where everyone feels safe to seek support.
The Arthur Ellis Mental Health Foundation regularly sees the impact of these barriers. Those who find it hardest to reach out are often the ones who need support the most.
“Access is one of the biggest challenges we face in mental health,” said Jon Manning, Founder and CEO at Arthur Ellis. “It’s not just about whether support exists. It’s about whether people feel able to access that support, and whether it’s available at the point they need it. If we don’t address that, we risk leaving the most vulnerable people behind.”
Timely, compassionate support, delivered in a way that feels accessible and inclusive, can make a significant difference. And prevention also plays a critical role.
Workplaces are uniquely positioned to lead this change. By normalising conversations, improving representation and actively signposting support, organisations can create cultures where mental health is prioritised before it reaches crisis point. Simple actions like regular check ins take moments and can have a lasting impact.
Initiatives like the Down But Not Out radio show with MKFM aim to support this shift, creating space for honest conversations and lived experiences that help break down stigma and encourage earlier support.
Mental Health Awareness Month should be about access over awareness. Through the charity’s Workplace Membership Programme, it supports organisations in delivering preventative wellbeing training, championing development and offering access to timely, one-to-one support. For HR leaders, this offers a practical way of ensuring mental health support is not only available, but accessible to every employee.
Because mental health support only works if it works for everyone.
For more information on how a business can join The Arthur Ellis Foundation’s Workplace Membership Programme, email hello@arthurellismhs.com or visit our website here.
