Martin Webber

National study aims to break down barriers to volunteering in heritage and nature sectors The University of York has partnered with some of the country’s leading museums and heritage organisations to help people from diverse backgrounds access volunteering opportunities.

Here's a little introduction to our new inclusive volunteering project which explores how best to support people to volunteer in heritage and nature-based organisations: www.york.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

Two international social work conferences coming up that are worth checking out:
-Social Work Congress, Australia, 18-20 November 2026 - socialworkcongress.com.au
-International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health, India, 5-8 January 2027 - icswhmh.com
Abstracts open!

Police need better coordination on mental health emergencies, study shows - Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre A new study finds that a lack of coordination between agencies is hampering efforts to provide effective care.

Blurred responsibilities between police, ambulance, and mental health services are hindering responses to mental health crises.

Our study calls for better coordination.

🔗 vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk/news/police-...

@york.ac.uk @martinwebber.bsky.social @lizhughesdd.bsky.social

Police need better coordination on mental health emergencies, study shows - Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre A new study finds that a lack of coordination between agencies is hampering efforts to provide effective care.

Summary findings of our study of mental health policing have just been published - full papers to follow shortly... @vp-centre.bsky.social @lizhughesdd.bsky.social
vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk/news/police-...

The social prescribing link workers involved in our @nihr.bsky.social funded feasibility study of community-enhanced social prescribing have spoken out! Here are some of their reflections: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our review has just been published -
Practitioner training and user experience of Seeking Safety for people with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder - peerj.com/articles/200...

@peerj.bsky.social

I'm really looking forward to the online launch tomorrow of our Inclusive Volunteering Guide. Please join us if you can at 1pm BST: www.york.ac.uk/business-soc.... Thank you!

Our Umbrella Review of the conceptualisation and measurement of social frailty has just been published: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... This informs our current work in developing a screening tool for social frailty for health and social care professionals (sphr.nihr.ac.uk/prevention/d...).

📣 Heritage Volunteering Group Conference 2025

🗓 25–26 Nov | ⏰ 9.30am–1.15pm | 💻 Zoom

Join @martinwebber.bsky.social, @heritagevols.bsky.social and amazing volunteer engagement pros as they explore how volunteering transforms lives and communities: linktr.ee/heritagevolu... #Heritagevolunteering25

Final call for papers for special issue of Social Work in Health Care on the role of social workers in addressing social and health inequalities: think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu... Please take a look and share with anyone interested. Thank you!

I’m looking forward to speaking at the Heritage Volunteering Group Conference:

🗓25–26 Nov
⏰ 9:30–13:15
💻 Zoom

It's a great opportunity to explore how volunteering transforms lives & communities

🎟 Info:https://linktr.ee/heritagevolunteeringgroup #Heritagevolunteering25 #Volunteering #Heritage

Reform UK puts teenagers in charge of vital public services Concerns raised about council appointments, including 19-year-old overseeing children and family services

Worrying. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

From loneliness to social connection: charting a path to healthier societies – Report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection This landmark report from the WHO Commission on Social Connection highlights that social isolation and loneliness are widespread, with serious but under-recognized impacts on health, well-being, and s...

World Health Organization flagship report on social connections has just been published - worth a read: www.who.int/publications...

New International Handbook of Social Work just published - with chapters about social work in 30 countries. It's a tad pricey, so one for libraries to stock up on I think! editorial.tirant.com/es/libro/int...

editorial.tirant.com/es/libro/int... Handbook of Social Work with our chapter @martinwebber.bsky.social

Britain in 2025: sick man of Europe battling untreated illness crisis As poverty deepens across Britain, the Guardian visited some of the hardest-hit places where leaders are aiming to shift healthcare from hospitals to communities

Illustrations of the effects of poverty and health inequality in the UK - www.theguardian.com/society/2025.... Worth a read.

One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds Rates are three times as high in young women as in young men and mental ill health up across age groups, study says

The increasing prevalence of mental health problems found in the National Psychiatric Morbidity Society is, unfortunately, not surprising, but very worrying. Tackling causes, including social determinants of mental health, is now as important as ever.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

A Place of Safety: identifying good practice in mental health emergencies We are developing a research project with people who have experienced mental health emergencies to show what good care looks like.

We are exploring good responses to mental health emergencies so that we can evaluate (and hopefully scale up) good practice from the perspective of people with lived experience. If you know of UK examples that you can share, please do get in touch - www.nsun.org.uk/a-place-of-s.... Thanks.

NIHR Research Programme for Social Care has a special call out for research in Children's Social Care - www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/rpsc.... It's worth checking out!

The NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Social Care can provide advice on applications: www.nihr.ac.uk/support-and-.... Why not give it a go?

NIHR School for Social Care Research Career Development Awards are now open for applications - sscr.nihr.ac.uk/career-devel.... This is an excellent opportunity for social work practitioners who want to get some research training or experience.

The Mental Health Social Care Research Centre has just joined Bluesky! We'll be posting news here about our work - new studies, publications, conferences, impact, findings - and engaging with discussions about policy and practice relevant to our work. Please follow us at @mhscrc.bsky.social. Thanks!

If you're looking for a place to publish research on social workers addressing structural or social determinants of health, please take a look at this call for papers for a special issue of Social Work in Health Care: think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issu.... Thank you!

Connecting People: an evidence-informed approach to developing social connections

Next Monday from 11am-12pm for Mental Health Awareness Week, I'll be giving a webinar on Connecting People and how we can support people to connect with others. Please do come along: www.bespokementalhealth.co.uk/live-events/.... Thank you @bespokemh.bsky.social!

Two older people dancing. Text reads: Social frailty in older adults. A new project to tackle 'Social Frailty' in older adults secures NIHR Three Schools funding after a pioneering preliminary study.

📢 New project alert: @martinwebber.bsky.social has been awarded funding from @nihrsphr.bsky.social, to undertake a major follow-on study to develop and validate a new screening tool for social frailty among older adults.

Read more: sphr.nihr.ac.uk/news-and-eve... #YorkResearch

1. Motorist kills cyclist and is jailed for 14 months: www.theguardian.com/football/202....
2. Cyclists who kill pedestrians could be jailed for life under new law in England: www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ap....

Any loss of life is a tragedy, but can we please get our priorities in order?

Just finished reading Act Now by @plancommonsense.bsky.social. This presents a radical yet achievable alternative future for the UK, which progressives can get behind. Change is needed. Let's start talking about some of these ideas @podsavetheuk.crooked.com

New research project to tackle ‘Social Frailty’ in older adults secures NIHR Three Schools funding after groundbreaking preliminary study - NIHR School for Public Health Research A research initiative exploring how to better identify and respond to ‘social frailty’ among older adults has successfully completed its development phase and secured funding for a major follow-on stu...

Social frailty in older people is a growing issue and there are no robust tools available to health and social care practitioners in the UK to identify it. Well, not at the moment anyway... @nihrsphr.bsky.social sphr.nihr.ac.uk/news-and-eve... Watch this space for updates!

Lived Experience Network for Scholars (LENS) Online Meet-up An support and information network for academic mental health and addiction researchers with lived experience

🙌Very excited to share our new support network for mental health and/or addiction research academics with lived experience. We have called it LENS (Lived Experience Network for Scholars). Read more and sign up on Eventbrite for our 1st online meeting in May: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lived-expe...

New research to tackle poor mental health in young mothers A University of York researcher is leading a new project to identify ways to boost mental health support for young mothers and birthing parents.

New study funded by @nihr.bsky.social and co-led by @ruthndwrites.bsky.social is underway to explore support for young mothers and birthing people: www.york.ac.uk/news-and-eve...