Our knowledge and awareness of mental health has never been greater. Yet little progress has been made in addressing a key cause of population mental ill-health: financial insecurity.This book argues that tackling inequalities through the social security system could offer a new focus to help stop our current trajectory of worsening poverty and distress.Featuring original research and focusing on three key areas: prevention, support and investment, it sets out how well-desi...

Money was already tight for UK families living on a low income before the COVID-19 pandemic, but national lockdowns made life much harder.Telling the stories of these families, this book exposes the ways that pre-existing inequalities, insecurities and hardships were amplified during the pandemic for families who were already in poverty before COVID-19, as well as those pushed into poverty by the economic fallout it created.Drawing on the Covid Realities research programme,...