August 11, 2022

Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment is a new service, which will support individuals living with Severe Mental Health Experiences (SMHE).

It will be delivered through a personalised 1-1 development plan by our Step Forward team here at Cumbria CVS, working in partnership with a range of local mental health providers.

The team have been very busy for the last 4 weeks, moving the project forward and preparing for the launch on October 10th to coincide with World Mental Health Awareness Day. The logo, which was created by Richard and reviewed and modified by the SMHE Advisory Group, has been given a tagline to reflect the discussions that were captured during the meeting – “Supporting you, whichever direction you decide to take”.

Maria, who has lived experience with Severe Mental Health Experiences, has begun in the admin role and is giving an invaluable insight into the creation of our leaflets and resources for employers, clients who use the service, volunteers and medical professionals. These have been led by Becky, the Employment and Volunteering Officer, who left a role as Communications Executive and has applied her skills and expertise to this aspect of the project. Becky has worked with a Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment digital volunteer with lived experience to ensure the resources are impactful and reflective of the message we want to convey.

Richard has reflected upon the experience and said…“It was a fantastic opportunity to work on Step Forward, and be involved in a project pushing the need for support for people with mental health issues which are so often overlooked. On a personal note it was challenging but rewarding to design the identity for the project. I got a lot of moral support and kind words from brief to completion. Rewarding work to do and something to be proud of.”

In addition to the intensive work setting up the project we have with the support, collaboration and co-production of the SMHE Advisory Group and changed the language we will use going forward. We asked them to feedback and give their insight and perspective, and revised the wording used from Severe Mental Illness (SMI) to Severe Mental Health Experiences (SMHE). The outcome was unanimous, as the group felt the word illness had negative connotations and was not reflective of their experience and circumstances. We feel very proud of the group for their invaluable comments and the time they dedicate to attending the SMHE Advisory Group meetings. Co-production is key to the project and reaching a collective outcome is extremely important to the Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment Team.

So, all in all the last 4 weeks have been very busy, but exceptionally productive and still we have lots to do and lots to learn before launch date, but we love to talk about and share our project, so please get in touch if you would like to know more.

Thank you for sharing the journey with us. My name is Shelley and I am delighted to be the Project Manager and look forward to updating you at regular intervals.

Visit our Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment page for more information on the project.

 

Shelley Studholme
Project Manager for Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment
Cumbria CVS