Introducing: Zita Collier

I first saw how closely mental health and money are linked growing up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder. When their mental health took a severe downturn, work had to stop; income vanished overnight while the help was slow and hard to reach. I remember them looking for work from a hospital room, because even in crisis the bills didn’t pause. We’ve had calmer spells since, but the illness and its financial shadow haven’t gone away. A letter about a missed payment or an unexpected bill can still flare symptoms and knock a good week off course. It’s a reminder that the toxic cycle between money and mental health isn’t just about moments of crisis, it’s woven into daily life, with each side feeding the other until they’re impossible to separate.

What’s struck me is how poorly our systems treat people when they’re unwell. Trying to access help can feel like navigating an obstacle course: full of interrogations, assumptions, and processes that feel more punitive than supportive, being left waiting months for an appointment or facing endless forms when you’re already unwell. Too often, people are made to feel like they’re doing something wrong just by asking for help. And it’s not just a feeling. Benefits can be suddenly reduced to recover overpayments caused by official error, with no warning or flexibility. One missed council tax payment can snowball into court summons, charges, and bailiffs at the door. It’s a system built to protect its budgets and processes, even when that forces people deeper into hardship. 

That’s why I’ll never accept ‘that’s just the way it is’, and why I want to help build a welfare system that reflects the day to day realities of people with mental health problems.

When I first came across Money and Mental Health, I felt an almost instant sense of recognition. Here was an organisation that not only understands the cycle, but puts lived experience at the heart of their work. Our 5,000-strong Research Community isn’t just consulted, they help shape our focus, challenge our assumptions, and ensure recommendations reflect real life, like our recent research exposing the catastrophic effects the (now reversed) PIP eligibility changes would have had on people with mental health problems. It’s the kind of approach all research and policy work should take: without lived experience, you can’t fully understand realities, let alone change them.

Having studied Politics and Sociology at undergraduate and master’s level, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of how injustice and inequality are built into the systems we live in, from how housing policy shapes poverty to the barriers disabled people face when accessing work. I’ve also seen how, with the right research and messaging, those systems can change. Since finishing my studies, I’ve spent the past year working at an e-commerce startup across marketing, communications and customer service. It taught me clear, well framed communication, and the importance of really understanding the people you’re speaking to. This role feels like the ideal place to bring together my skills, knowledge, and commitment to this cause. 

I’m excited to help give voice to our Research Community across a range of platforms, especially as we launch Instagram, to reach younger audiences with content that’s engaging, accessible, and rooted in lived experience. I’m also keen to learn how we influence the people in power, and help make policy work better for those too often left behind. Most of all, I feel lucky to be spending the next six months in such a welcoming team, contributing to work that feels both urgent and deeply worthwhile.

To stay up-to-date with what Zita is working on at Money and Mental Health, you can follow us on Linkedin or sign up to receive our monthly newsletter. To share your experiences and help to inform our research, priorities and campaigns, please join our Research Community.