A little chicken karma

			Iona Joy Senior Analyst, New Philanthropy Capital
			HERE’S AN IDEA. This weekend go for a curry at Abbevilles restaurant in Clapham, south London. While you feast on their great cuisine, you’ll be helping people improve their mental health and cutting your tax bill. Abbevilles is run by a charity, the First Step Trust (FST). FST supports about 500 people with severe mental illnesses. The discipline and routine of they get from working in the kitchen or waiting tables can help them control and even overcome their mental health problems. Work experience can also be a stepping stone to coming off benefits and into full-time employment. Almost 900,000 people with mental illness are on incapacity benefit. This makes up almost half of the total. Providing this benefit costs £12.5bn – a cost the government is keen to reduce – and FST is one of a number of charities providing the kind of support that can do this. "Going out for a curry is not a bad place to start" The charity’s approach is also an effective way to cut hospital admissions and health-service use. That is because work, paid or unpaid, can reduce hospital stays by up to 70% for people with severe mental health problems. Finding a working solution pays off — both for those with mental ill-health and for the taxpayer. When it comes to tackling mental health problems, you can’t do everything. But you can do something. Going out for a curry is not a bad place to start. > Watchdog articles > More expert opinions