Support in Mind Scotland believes that we have specific expertise in understanding and responding to serious mental ill-health and so we have identified some themes that are of particular interest to us:

• Health Inequalities - addressing the poorer physical health outcomes for those with serious mental illness
• Forensic Mental Health Services - supporting family members of those who face detention and secure care
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services - supporting young people and their families who are at risk of moving into adult psychiatric services
• Responding to crisis and distress - lobbying for improved support specifically for those who are taken into custody as a place of safety

Support in Mind Scotland (SiMS) supports around 1,300 people every week who experience poor mental health and over 80% of those are in rural communities where services are not so accessible. SiMS recognised that mental health organisations often struggle to access people in remoter areas, whilst rural organisations are aware and now have evidence of mental health issues in rural parts of Scotland, but didn't always have the expertise to tackle mental health issues. Support in Mind Scotland set up, developed and runs the National Rural Mental Health Forum, which is a strong network of rural people and stakeholders driving change to enable rural people to be open about their mental health, have a solid evidence base for what works to improve people's lives and create a programme to influence policy-makers to channel resources in ways that bring positive change through a network of rural organisations