Moray Wellbeing Hub

MORAY WELLBEING HUB

Looking at the evidence base (at what others were doing in other areas and what they had tried locally) they recognised that there were lessons to be learned and that it would take a different approach to really make lasting change.

Stigma:

They knew first-hand how powerful a barrier stigma and discrimination, as a result of having mental health problems, can be, and also that 'self-stigma' was the most challenging to takle.

Collective:

They could see the negative impact of a 'them and us' approach, or 'ill and well', and wanted to find a way that everyone could feel welcome, share resources and ideas to make Moray mentally wealthy.

Hope:

They wanted to prove that they (the people who were the very same individuals they wanted to help) were up to the task of creating a new service and could succeed in a competitive market.

Self-management:

They knew that there was a lack of referral-free support to help them get more from life.

Education:

They knew that they had a lot to learn and needed resources to be able to take this forward, not only for the project, but as an ongoing process of developing and delivering tools locally and of reflecting on how this worked for people.

Peer support:

They recognised the value in using their life experiences to help inspire others; sharing the experience of crisis or challenge in their mental health.

Voice:

They wanted to empower individuals to take more responsibility in their lives for health, but also to assist those who provided support to listen and respect the views from those with lived experience.

Sustainable:

They wanted to create something that was not another short project, where the learning is lost once funds finish, but left a legacy that would grow and build to create further change.

2013 -2015 This process took time to build up momentum, to explore ideas with the wider community through events training and engagement, to connect a few key partners with different skills and connections, both in Moray and beyond.

The project gained leadership not from a traditional statutory service or provider, but from within the community - a 'Recovery and Wellbeing Champion', who could also connect with business resources to host funding for a project short-term, working to empower the community to design and own their own service.

Key to this was the 'Making Recovery Real in Moray' partnership.

This Scottish Recovery Network initiative formed a supportive 'change network' with partners including Moray Health and Social Care (NHS Grampian / Moray Council), tsiMORAY, a range of third sector mental health organisations and those with lived experience of mental health problems.

The Moray Wellbeing Hub project was born and Moxie Media CIC worked with partners to secure vital funding from See Me and ALLIANCE.

Becoming the change we wanted to see.

We realised from looking at what had not worked in the past that it was not what activity that had happened, but how that mattered, putting peer-support, education and collective advocacy as the drivers behind the activity.

To understand this fully we wanted to add to the body of peer research that is growing in Scotland about what works toward recovery.

We adopted a Participatory Action Research approach.

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is based on reflection, data collection, and action that aims to make improvements by involving the people who, in turn, take actions to improve their own health.

A continuous reflection and change cycle

Activity:

What we planned to do was deliver activities that raised awareness of self-management tools and stigma related to mental health and connect with wider circles of the community.

PROJECT TO SOCIAL ENTERPRISE JOURNEY 2016/17

WWW.MORAYWELLBEINGHUB.ORG.UK

Activities

EVALUATION

“I now have a set of tools and am part of a recovery community that acknowledges that you can have good mental wellbeing and a MH diagnosis… radical! I also have developed supportive friendships.”

Sharing observations

• Large community event: May '16, Elgin. Participants: 50. Volunteers: 7 Champion sign up:22
• Monthly Forres Pop-up: Run 5 times, 5-9pm on a Thursday evening. Total beneficiaries: 46. No. champions involved running sessions, 4
• Outreach Stalls: Over 14 each run with minimum of two Champions
• March Birthday Celebration Events- Forres, Lossiemouth, Keith, Dufftown, Buckie, Elgin: reach >100 involving minimum of 5 Champions at each event

• The Forres monthly events have moved to being led by the Champions themselves.
• The May café event was run by the project lead, but with some support from volunteers.
• By the March events the Champions took ownership in running the event.

“It has really brought people together, brought out the best in people, and offered new opportunities to members. It feels like the beginning of a positive uprising which will genuinely and effectively tackle mental well-being issues in Moray and inspire other communities, too.”

Partnerships

Promotion

Social

Enterprise

Formed

New WRAP facilitators trained.

Total in Moray = 18

Funded Projects 2017

How, not what

Recovery is a...

• process
• journey
• not an end point...

Champions

Recruited

Funding

Awarded

LLTTF Peer trainers = 18

22k

April 2016: Moxie Media C.I.C. secures funding for a co-production process toward creating a hub from two funders - ALLIANCE & See Me

Co-Production - Sharing power in a process of change

"Co-production essentially describes a relationship between service provider and service user that draws on the knowledge, ability and resources of both to develop solutions to issues that are claimed to be successful, sustainable and cost-effective, changing the balance of power from the professional towards the service user. The approach is used in work with both individuals and communities."

Scottish Coproduction Network

Reflecting and connecting

10 Champion Forum / Celebration events

Chat to one other person, someone you’d like to know better. After each question choose from your discussion:

• two words you have in common

• one word each that differs

Tackling stigma, including self-stigma

Empowering individuals to create the change they want to see.

Focusing on strengths, not illness & problems

Combining personal experiences with research & local resources

Increasing access and awareness of peer-support and self-management tools

Supporting partnerships between supporters & those in need of support

Outputs:

Diverse base of skilled Champions

Co-designed business plan for a new social enterprise ‘Wellbeing Hub’

Increased partnerships

Accessible report on impact