Ember's Take on Wellbeing
Mar 31, 2026
Community-led mental health initiatives (CLMHIs) fill critical gaps in mental health care across the globe. Yet, the wellbeing of those doing this work is often treated as secondary, rather than as a fundamental right and the foundation for lasting social change.
Centering what we have learnt from our work with CLHMIs worldwide and bringing this to life with reflections from our partners, this blog provides a glimpse into Ember’s approach to caring for the carers and highlights the importance of placing wellbeing at the heart of this work. You can read and download the full piece here.
In general, CLMHIs do not lack the understanding or drive to care for themselves, but in a funding landscape which often centres outcomes over people, it can be difficult for teams to prioritise their own care. This challenge is often compounded by a culture of mental health care work where service comes first, workloads are high, resources are limited, and stigma around mental health remains.
At Ember, we see wellbeing not as an add-on, but as a crucial part of our work with CLMHIs. We have seen that prioritising wellbeing can lead to long-term positive impacts, on individual wellbeing, on team connection, and on organisational sustainability.
We are committed to deeply listening to the organisations we work with, and to embedding wellbeing, healing and care across all streams of our work. Through this approach, we continue to learn alongside our partners and other innovators in community-led mental health care to reflect on what meaningful wellbeing support looks like across contexts and to develop a wellbeing approach that is grounded in relationship, trust and mutual respect.