20 people enjoyed finding out more about the See Me campaign from Laetitia Jan. See Me is tackling discrimination and stigma including self-stigma, to change behaviour in communities. They run programmes around At Work, Children & Young People, Health & Social Care and will soon be starting a new project called “Ageing Minds”.
Their communities work includes See Me Community Champions, Community Conversation, Pass the Badge On and Walk a Mile in My Shoes. The hope is that all these things going on in communities will reduce stigma as people get used to talking about mental health.
See Me support a wide range of projects, including projects involving peer researchers, campaigning about children being accommodated in CAMHS units as far away as the English Midlands, work in prisons and work with the Polish community in Edinburgh. They support AdvoCard’s “All & Equal” project on how people with mental health issues are treated in A&E. They work with GPs to change behaviour. At Work, employers are encourages to take responsibility for their staff’s mental health. People need to be aware of their rights at work and to look after their own mental health at work.
We commented on increased demands on services as budgets are cut in so many areas. There used to be so much hope around and new initiatives being tried. See Me are trying to identify methods that work and will keep on working, instead of wastefully reinventing the wheel.
New issues included Firhill, the smoking ban and a new name for the new hospital – all suggestions welcome!