Young people talk about benefits of participation | News and events

Young people talk about benefits of participation

#LetsConnect Children's Mental Health Week 6th -12th February 2023

Young people talk about benefits of participation

Young people have been speaking about their experience with mental health services, the benefits of participation, goals for the future and the improvements that their voice has made on the services.

Particip8, a participation group run by the Suffolk Children, Families and Young People service within The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), recently delivered a virtual session on its progress and achievements over the past year.

NSFT staff were joined by other organisations, including members of the Integrated Care Board, Healthwatch and the Care Quality Commission.

Projects have included improving crisis support, development of podcasts for young people, co-production of new leaflets and letters and attendance at local conferences.

Young people also spoke about the benefits of being members of the Particip8 group has had on their own mental health. Their comments included:

“Participation has changed my life and has been a silver lining for me.”

“My experience of Particip8 so far has been so much more than I could have ever imagined. I joined looking for a group that shared my passion about mental health and a place to go because my own mental health was so unrecognisable from how it used to be. What I have actually found are projects that have massively stimulated my brain and given me some of my closest friends.”

“I have gone on to do things that I never thought I would have before being involved in participation.”

“For the first time I feel like my voice is being heard.”

Guests from other organisations said it was lovely to hear from the “articulate” young people about how participation had helped their recovery and what they were doing to help young people accessing services in the future.

People Participation Lead Sophie Davies said: “I feel absolutely honoured to be able to work alongside Particip8! The enthusiasm, openness and passion of these young people is so inspiring, and I am so pleased to see that their voices have created positive change.”

NSFT chief nurse Diane Hull said: “As we continue to improve the services we provide it is vital we listen to those who use them. Particip8 is a wonderful example of this, and I’d like to share a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone involved.”

Anyone who would like to get involved in participation can email people.participation@nsft.nhs.uk. There is also information on NSFT’s website under the Get Involved section www.nsft.nhs.uk/currentopportunitiestogetinvolved

My Particip8 experience – a testimonial from Grace

The Particip8 group has meant much more to 23-year-old Grace than purely a way to be involved in shaping NSFT services for young people.

“I have made some of my closest friends since I got involved with the group last February. We are bound together with a shared passion,” she said.

Grace, who has been registered blind since birth, found out about the Norfolk version of the group through a disability newsletter she received.

“I thought ‘this looks absolutely fantastic’ and I wondered if there was something similar in Suffolk. I contacted the Norfolk team and straight away they put me in touch with people participation lead and ‘legend’ Sophie Davies. The rest is history.

“We also have a WhatsApp group and if anyone needs any support logistically or to help with a disability issue we can message and always get help, whether that’s a lift or help reading something,” said Grace, who lives in Ipswich.

One of the things that Grace is most proud of has been making a crisis leaflet more accessible for the people it is aimed at.

She said: “The wording was very instructional, very demanding, like it was telling people what to do. It felt inaccessible. The group sent feedback and when we got the edited version it was so much better. It showed me that people are really listening to us.”

She has also been involved in training for staff on how to word letters to young people and in presentations to showcase the work of Particip8.

“Being part of that was lovely,” she said. “I look at what we are doing and think ‘I have had a hand in creating this wonderful thing to make a difference to generations.”

And she added: “We need to celebrate that. There is a real tendency that when NSFT is in the spotlight it’s all negative, but my experience has been very good.”

The group started small with Sophie, Grace and one other service user but has now grown to around 14/15 people from 50 members regularly attending online and face-to-face sessions, with smaller groups branching off in between to work on various projects. Others in the group are involved in one-to-one sessions.

They are currently looking at inpatient services, emergency response and training videos for staff on letter writing.

Sophie has made sure Grace has reasonable adjustments in place to help her take part and organises face-to-face meetings when she knows Grace’s support worker can attend with her.

“I’d really like to say thank you to NSFT for everything they do and would encourage more people to get involved.”

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