Sharing powerful stories
World Mental Health Day is on Saturday, and we’re recognising the theme set by the World Health Organisation: ‘mental health for all’ by celebrating the importance of client voice.
At Second Step, we use client insight to shape and deliver our services. A number of our staff have experience of living with a mental health condition and so have a unique understanding of how to support our clients. Using client voice in the way we work is hugely important to us. That’s why we’re launching a new hashtag #ClientInsights on our social channels today to mark World Mental Health Day 2020.
We’ve heard so many fabulous stories of recovery, breakthrough and hope from our clients throughout the pandemic. We’ve picked these three recent pieces to share with you this #worldmentalhealthday in the hope that they inspire you.
One: Paul – Rescued from the rabbit hole
Paul was on BBC Radio Breakfast recently talking about his own personal journey with The Hope Project, our suicide prevention service for men. In this new film, Paul shares how the project gave him a new start to life.
Two: Paulette – Outpouring of healing
Oh to feel heart to heart beating
To feel soft breath upon my cheek
To play hide and go seek
This is a verse from Paulette’s favourite poem, Shattered, one of a number
of poems she wrote during lockdown. It’s a lament to the years she spent
without her daughter, taken from her as her baby and who lived away
from her for seven long years.
Paulette has used a number of Second Step services and worked with
Evert, one of Second Step’s community support workers, to discover
words and paintings together. The result is a body of work which is
hugely impressive: rich, emotional and raw.
Three: Claire – It’s helpful to share your story
Digital Officer Claire blogs about how sharing your own personal mental health story can be a liberating and powerful process. We really value and appreciate people sharing their stories with us, and we recognise it’s not an easy thing to do. Claire’s blog gives some great tips on what to think about if you want to share your story – let us know if you do!