Its been a while since I blogged about how the Liverpool Mental health Consortium are getting on- in "Insane" I was more than a bit depressed by the perilous state of so many of the mental health services i valued to keep me well. The news on the consortium is good, particularly welcome as they received funding from the Welcome Trust. It is to pilot a project for a year called Lunatic Fringe, which will concentrate their work on promoting and exploring peoples experience of mental health by working with a number of festivals within Liverpool. The evaluation of this work could well lead to further more long term funding from Welcome.
Despite my anxieties I have continued to be involved with the project, support from Sarah, the Service User involvement lead, has been most valuable to keep me focused and i have been able to see a new energy and drive enter the organisation. After so much angst and uncertainty over funding I could observe a cloud of stress on the staff in particular only when it was lifted, their faces seemed so much more alive and bright.
The nature of the work has shifted some but in a more creative direction. Working on projects to engage the public has brought more creative souls into the circle. In the Service User group, now renamed the Well -Connected group we are looking forward to working on a film project in the summer. There are opportunities to volunteer at the festivals that we are working with, surveying people about their views in relation to mental health at the same time as enjoying the performers. At Mad Pride recently I got to be on the line-up twice with some of the music groups I meet with, we even got paid to perform. Friends and fellow performers helped make the event more familial, thumbs up from audience members and all that. The crew from the Caledonia let rip for 20 minutes, and were videoed to boot. The event itself received some great press too-it all augers well for the future.
The state of mainstream provision continues to be in a parlous state, political imperatives abound and risk aversion is the name of the game. This stultifying environment is driving many people away from accepting the mainstream and some of them are joining us-we now have lots of new faces at our meetings bringing a new energy and new experiences to get us thinking. It’s a positive place to be so I’m hanging in there.... perhaps see you there!
Despite my anxieties I have continued to be involved with the project, support from Sarah, the Service User involvement lead, has been most valuable to keep me focused and i have been able to see a new energy and drive enter the organisation. After so much angst and uncertainty over funding I could observe a cloud of stress on the staff in particular only when it was lifted, their faces seemed so much more alive and bright.
The nature of the work has shifted some but in a more creative direction. Working on projects to engage the public has brought more creative souls into the circle. In the Service User group, now renamed the Well -Connected group we are looking forward to working on a film project in the summer. There are opportunities to volunteer at the festivals that we are working with, surveying people about their views in relation to mental health at the same time as enjoying the performers. At Mad Pride recently I got to be on the line-up twice with some of the music groups I meet with, we even got paid to perform. Friends and fellow performers helped make the event more familial, thumbs up from audience members and all that. The crew from the Caledonia let rip for 20 minutes, and were videoed to boot. The event itself received some great press too-it all augers well for the future.
The state of mainstream provision continues to be in a parlous state, political imperatives abound and risk aversion is the name of the game. This stultifying environment is driving many people away from accepting the mainstream and some of them are joining us-we now have lots of new faces at our meetings bringing a new energy and new experiences to get us thinking. It’s a positive place to be so I’m hanging in there.... perhaps see you there!