We work hard to understand the needs and experiences of people with mental health problems. This drives everything we do, and, wherever we can, we actively seek opportunities for people with lived experience of mental health problems to get involved and guide our work. We cannot do it without you.
With You in Mind is a new initiative from Andover Mind, designed to encourage influence and participation from the people who use our services, volunteers and supporters.
We aim to become a better, more inclusive organisation by listening to the voices of everyone who wants to talk to us. Whether you have personal experience either, as person experiencing or recovering from mental ill health, from caring for someone with this experience, as a fundraiser, partner or stakeholder, or as an interested party with no personal experience, we want to hear from you.
“Lived experience influence and participation is the development and promotion of opportunities in order that a diverse range of people, with lived experience of mental health problems, influence and participate in our work.”
National Mind
We want to listen to, understand and act on the views and opinions of as wide a range of people with experience of mental health problems as we can. We recognise that people’s experiences can take many different forms, so as we plan, develop and implement our work, it is vitally important we actively develop and promote opportunities for people to use their experiences and skills to influence our work. For total accessibility and inclusion, this can be done via multiple methods including surveys, focus groups, discussion forums and events.
Lived experience influence
Initiatives and activities within this category give people with lived experience the opportunity to shape and develop our work; this includes what is prioritised and how it is planned, delivered and evaluated. In other words people are influencing decision making. This could be through completing a survey, taking part in a focus group, contributing to decision-making on an advisory group or helping to lead a project.
Lived experience participation
Initiatives and activities in this category give people with lived experience the opportunity to work alongside us in a practical way to achieve our aims. People might volunteer at an event sharing their experience of mental health problems, share their stories as part of a training session or support our online campaigns by talking on camera or a podcast about their experiences in the hope that it will inspire others to seek support and end the stigma of mental ill-health.
Why do influence and participation matter?
Besides complying with regulations, properly managing budgets and delivering high-quality projects, the influence of people with lived experience is paramount to the work we do here at Andover Mind.
To meet people’s needs, we must work with them to make sure their opinions and ideas are valued. It is essential not to make assumptions or take choices and control away from people.
It is crucial to engage with a truly diverse range of people within organisations and services whose work affects people with lived experiences of mental health problems. Our work will only be practical if we truly hear and understand the needs of people and then plan and deliver accordingly.
Influence and participation bring enormous benefits to organisations and provide considerable benefits to those who work alongside us. This is a two-way process where everyone involved will benefit.
How you can get involved
If you’re interested in getting involved with our influence and participation programme, we’d love to hear from you. Just send us an email to withyouinmind@andovermind.org.uk
