Gallagher: Growing demand
The Solicitor’s Charity has reported a sharp increase in the number of clients referred for both mental health support and financial advice.
There was a 17% increase in the number of clients referred to LawCare, including almost double the number complaining about bullying and harassment compared to the previous year.
The Solicitor’s Charity funding enabled 324 of its clients to receive support from LawCare with their mental wellbeing, and also referred 28 to online therapy specialists Onebright.
This represented a “significant increase in demand and reflects the growing need for emotional and mental health support from our clients”.
The total amount paid out by the charity, the operating name of the Solicitors Benevolent Association, remained almost the same last year, increasing very slightly to just over £972,000. However, the number of grants made to current and former solicitors and/or their dependents increased by a third. A third of new clients in 2023 were from an ethnic minority background.
According to its annual Big Report, The Solicitor’s Charity said six out of 10 solicitors it spoke to for research did not feel adequately supported in the workplace and half said the profession lacked mental health resources.
Almost half of solicitors (46%) said they rarely prioritised their wellbeing, with the “biggest stressors” being time pressures, high workloads and client demands.
The charity said an increase in referrals for financial wellbeing reflected “increasing inflationary pressures on the cost of living”.
It funded debt specialist AdviceWorks to help 37 clients with money management, an increase from 21 the previous year, and Citizens Advice Manchester to help 32 clients with debt or welfare benefits advice, up from 19 the year before.
The charity funded career coaches Renovo to provide 19 clients with transition counselling and around 40% secured new jobs afterwards.
More than two-thirds of clients in 2023 were under 60, with 41% aged from 30 to 49. Just under two-thirds of clients (63%) were female, while two thirds had “some form of disability”.
Nick Gallagher, chief executive of The Solicitor’s Charity, said the figures demonstrated that it had helped a large proportion of people “in mid-career or when their professional lives are (or should be) in full flow”.
He went on: “Now, more than ever, the growing demand for wellbeing support from solicitors and the increase in awards we have made over the past year demonstrates that The Solicitors’ Charity plays a key role in providing all our clients with the help they need to achieve a healthy work-life balance.”
Leave a Comment