17/06/2026
Living by the coast is beautiful but it comes with challenges too.
Research shows that people living in some of England's most deprived coastal communities experience poorer mental health outcomes and often face greater barriers to accessing support.
According to the Chief Medical Officer's Annual Report, coastal communities have higher rates of common mental health difficulties than many inland areas. A study published in Health & Place (University of Essex Centre for Coastal Communities, 2025) found that young people in deprived coastal communities are more than three times as likely to experience undiagnosed mental distress as their inland peers. And research published in the Journal of Public Health found that seven of the ten English local authorities with the highest rates of hospital admissions for self-harm among young people are coastal communities.
Isolation, deprivation, transport difficulties and limited access to services can all make it harder for people to get the support they need.
This is one of the reasons Harbour Minds exists.
We believe mental health support should be accessible, affordable and rooted in the communities it serves.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you don't have to face it alone. 💙
