Social Inclusion
“For a number of years I, along with members of the Creative Communities Group UK, have been involved in the education of both social work and mental health nursing students.
CONTRIBUTING TO STUDENTS’ EDUCATION “With my fellow CCGUK community members, we have contributed to the education of students based on our personal lived experience of health and social care. A number of the academic members of the CCGUK network are also directly involved in this work, including Prof. David Morris, of the King’s Fund, Daisy Bogg, of The College of Social Work, and Lynn Shorter, senior social worker lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire. Within higher education there are already a number of well-established and successful community service-user/carer organisations delivering lived experience teaching. These include the Comensus project at UCLAN (a member of the CCGUK network), the Lancaster University Public Involvement Network (LUPIN), the Lived Experience Network (LEN) at Leeds University, and SUGAR, the Service User and Carer Group Advising on Research at City University, London, as well as the service-user/carer group based at the University of Hull.
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION “At our meeting in Westminster,” Russell Hogarth adds, “Lyn Romeo took a particular interest in the activities of the Creative Communities Group UK, and asked if we would put together a summary of our community involvement, and how it is helping some of the members of CCGUK with social inclusion. I believe that having Lyn Romeo in the position of chief social worker for adult services is a step in the right direction; she has shown on many occasions how she gives a voice to both service-users and social workers at a parliamentary level. I would also like to thank her for taking the trouble to write such a complimentary letter to the members of the Creative Communities Group UK.”
PERSONAL STORY RECOUNTED One of many individuals to have benefited greatly through involvement with CCGUK is ‘Miss K’, a service-user and mental health nursing student. She says: “I have now lived with a mental health problem for seven years. Growing up, I was always confident and sociable, although this all changed at 13, when I became increasingly withdrawn from my family and friends, and my confidence began to plummet. I struggled with self-harming, and often wondered what the point was in life, especially when I was so miserable. “At 16 my life continued to go downhill,
my self-harming got worse, and I moved out of my parents’ house. Then, not long after my Grandad’s death, I made an attempt on my life. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. After my
Minister of State for Care and Support, Norman Lamb MP, meets Dr Ruth Allen at the House of Commons launch of The Role of the Social worker in Adult Mental Health Services.
overdose I was admitted to hospital, and given an antidote to the medications I had taken. I was told I had 10 days to live if it didn’t work. I pulled the cannula out, hoping that I wouldn’t survive my suicide attempt, but I did. I spent the next six months in a mental health unit, before being sent to live in a children’s home.
REBUILDING MY LIFE “Over the coming years I slowly started rebuilding my life, although I often struggled on the path to recovery. My self-harm continued for a while, although by the age of 18 I had managed to stop, but had by then replaced the self-harming with drugs and alcohol. So now I had another completely different battle on my hands. I was referred to a Young People’s Drug and Alcohol Team, but they didn’t help. After about two years, however, I managed to quit on my own – by moving out of the area. “Having subsequently embarked on a
university course, I felt better in myself, although not completely well, still lacking confidence and struggling with my self-esteem. However, not long after starting university, I met Russell Hogarth, who told me about the Creative Communities Group he ran. Although a bit reluctant to join him and the group initially – I was still struggling with my confidence – I figured the best way to overcome my problems was to throw myself in the deep end. “I soon started attending events and volunteering with the CCGUK. I have now been a member for over a year – one of the best decisions I ever made. My confidence and self- esteem have definitely improved, and I am more like the person I once was before I began having issues with my mental health.
‘CHANGING MY LIFE AROUND’ “At events I am now happy to talk to everyone and anyone about the CCGUK and what we do. I thoroughly enjoy working with the CCGUK, and have made some brilliant friends. Before
‘Towards a Better Tomorrow highlights the ups and downs and setbacks on the road to recovery, using a variety of creative teaching styles, including media, narratives, DVD, ‘YouTube’, and role play’
(Left to right); Service-user and mental health nursing student, Ally Stableford, service-user and carer, Nicky Parr, and University counselling student and carer, Nigel Farnworth, delivering the workshop, Towards a Better Tomorrow, at Lancaster University during a 2014 regional Samaritans conference.
THE NETWORK January 2015 13
‘With my fellow CCGUK community members, we have contributed to the education of students based on our personal lived experience of health and social care’
being in the group I struggled forming relationships, but now find this much easier. I have grown to love the members of the group, with whom I work closely, and see them as family.
“Being in the Group has helped me tremendously on my journey to recovery. I now have a good network of friends who I know are there for me. My confidence has improved dramatically, and I feel a lot better within myself. I know I will always struggle with my mental health issues but I now know I can cope and it doesn’t have to take over my life. I owe a lot to the CCGUK, because it really has changed my life around.”
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