SPECIAL REPORT: Islamophobia has 'dire impact' on mental health in Leeds

As we continue to investigate a hidden rise in Islamophobia, charities in Leeds are warning of the huge impact Islamophobia is having on victims mental health.

Anti-Muslim hate crimes have risen from 111 between August 2016 and August 2017 to 173 a year later. It's an increase of more than 200%.

Now Radio Aire's discovered how that's causing last mental scars for some of those people who experience it.

It's well reported that 1 in 4 of us will suffer from it at some point in our lifetime.

But experts in the city who work to support victims of hate crime say that figures increases to 1 in 2 for people and communities who experience discrimination, hate or oppression.

Touchstone is a charity in Leeds that provides mental health and well-being services to over 2,000 people every year.

It's almost a year since they first launched their ‘Islam, Islamophobia and Mental Health’ training course for support staff who work with communities, in response a rise in reports.

The charity are rolling out training to all their staff so they're able people who come forward for help.

'For the majority it's the fear'

Arfan Hanif is leading the project and told us: "in reality people who experience Islamophobia or hate directly tend to be a minority, but for the majority it's the fear of that and how that impacts day to day life."

"It has a dire impact on people and part of our role in Touchstone is to support people who have emotional difficulties, and one of the triggers is hate crime and discrimination and we're mindful of that when give support."

"They feel a lot more anxious, a lot more fearful, which has a detriment not only for the individuals well-being and their mental health but also on the community."

You can find out more about Touchstone's work here.