I work in the communities and inclusion team at West Sussex Mind and I really believe that collaboration is vital to the way we work. I know how damaging stigma can be and want to be in a place that understands and challenges this. I know prejudice shuts down opportunity and creativity and I choose to work in an organisation that authentically wants to tackle this together.
I am proud that our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work plan is one that is threaded into our work across all our services. It’s a key feature in our strategic plan and it is evidenced in the development of this EDI co-production panel and other work we do. But we have lots more to do in this area and we are in the early stages of that journey.
I have known who I was since I was 16, but it seemed that I was doing something wrong due to the societal and cultural environment I grew up in, and this directly affected my mental health.
Our identities should be protected and should not be a vehicle for others’ opinions to cause harm to us. As we develop this work, we can hopefully learn from each other and influence the way we do things with insight and a passion for change.