Read on Twitter
Thread: what did we find out from talking with 19 user-led groups to build up a picture of the barriers facing mental health community organisations? A brief overview of our findings, including ten testable hypotheses about what user-led groups need to thrive:
#NSUNUserLedGroups https://twitter.com/NSUNnews/status/1339571390236815360
#NSUNUserLedGroups https://twitter.com/NSUNnews/status/1339571390236815360
Ursula from @adiraorguk sums up the experience of many groups trying to get funding - many feel they have to jump through hoops or change their original vision #NSUNUserLedGroups
Beth from @heartsand_minds explains how the folk with lived experience so often setting up these groups have no prior experience of the tricky landscape you have to navigate when trying to get going #NSUNUserLedGroups
Sue from North Tyneside Disability Forum https://www.ntdf.co.uk/ touches on the way that people without a diagnosis, who might want informal access to support, are often left behind or not thought about #NSUNUserLedGroups
Victoria of @makespace_co talks about the complications of seeking funding and understanding the "hidden curriculum" of setting up - all things governance, policies, and constitutions #NSUNUserLedGroups
Insights like these led us to our ten testable hypotheses for future action to help user-led mental health groups thrive - better practical support, information sharing, and tailored funding support... (1 of 2) #NSUNUserLedGroups
...Support around infrastructure, core activity, and working environments (2/2) #NSUNUserLedGroups
Finally, we arrived at our conclusions: we need better mapping of user-led activity, a better understanding of what it is amongst funders and policy-makers, respect for the position these groups occupy as deeply embedded within their communities #NSUNUserLedGroups
Our second lot of conclusions are around reshaping funding criteria, mitigating the dilution of the term "user-led", and re-evaluating the limitations of and barriers within the funding ecosystem #NSUNUserLedGroups
