"We believe no-one affected by mental illness should be alone when they face crisis, distress or despair."

SANE was founded 40 years ago, by our CEO Marjorie Wallace, to support and champion people living with mental illness.

Over these 40 years, our work has been exemplary in the sector, whether this is in promoting research at the Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research, combatting stigma or providing frontline support to some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

In 1992, we founded the UK’s first national specialist out-of-hours mental health helpline, SANEline, which remains our flagship service. Since then, we have developed this further into both our Call Back Service and written services, to ensure our support is available to anybody no matter their circumstances.

Earlier in 2026, we extended this support to young people aged 13-17 through our newest service, SANEchat, inspired by Niall, a 17 year old who sadly took his own life.

Further to SANE's emotional support services, the charity has had a long association with the arts, providing grants for materials or courses to artists living with a diagnosed mental health condition and their carers through our Creative Awards Scheme.

We've expanded this artistic connection to grants in music, through the SANE & Skarbek Songwriting Academy Award, and dance, in partnership with The Royal Academy of Dance, in memory of SANE's ambassador Robin Windsor.

As we celebrate 40 years of SANE, demand remains high for SANE's emotional support services as they continue to grow. Every donation we receive will support us in continuing to be there for people who need us 365 days a year when they have nowhere else to turn.