We are a community for people with lived experience of mental health to campaign for change.
[Content note; this article contains references to bereavement by suicide]
IMHN, in partnership with the Community Access Support Service (CASS) Bristol, are hosting a set of workshop sessions looking at improving what support is available to people who have been bereaved by suicide in the local area.
We will be looking at what is working well in support that is currently available, what could be improved, and where there are gaps in what services people are able to access.
There will be three sessions. Click the links below to be taken to the event pages to sign up and book your place.
- Suicide Bereavement Support workshop (Monday 14 December 2020 14:30)
- Suicide Bereavement Support for BAME Communities (Tuesday 19 January 2021 13:00)
- Suicide Bereavement Support workshop (focus on support for children and young people) (Monday 25 January 2021 13:00)
We have also launched a survey, asking people in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire about their experiences of bereavement support. Click here to access the survey.
December 3, 2020 at 10:00 am
IMHN are running six focus groups in December that each look at a different element of the NHS’ Community Mental Health Framework. These focus groups will help directly shape what the roll-out of the Framework looks like in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire areas.
- Developing peer support approaches (Tuesday 8 December at 2pm)
- Personality disorders and trauma-informed approaches (Monday 14 December at 4pm)
- Transitions from adult care to older adult care (Tuesday 15 December at 11:30am)
- Rehabilitation services (Tuesday 15 December at 2pm)
- Eating disorders (Wednesday 16 December at 5:30pm)
- Transitions of care for children and young people (Thursday 17 December at 5:30pm)
This will be your opportunity to discuss what matters most to you around the elements listed above, to help health commissioners ensure that the new services meet people’s needs.
People who attend a focus group will receive a £25 voucher as a thank you for their contributions and time.
We expect there to be a high level of interest for these events, and we want to ensure that everyone can have their say. Please make sure that you book your space as soon as possible!
More about the Community Mental Health Framework
The Framework was first published in September 2019, following publication of the NHS’ Long Term Plan and the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. The framework intends to deliver person-centred mental health care in the community, and address the needs of people that have previously struggled to access effective support (for example, people who’s needs cannot be met by primary care services, but are not deemed severe enough to access secondary mental health care).
- click here to read the framework document, published in September 2019
- click here to read an article about the framework, published by the Centre for Mental Health
November 29, 2020 at 4:27 pm
Content note; this piece contains discussions of LGBTQ+ and mental health issues.
The Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire LGBTQ+ Mental Health Lived Experience Steering Group is excited to launch a micro-grants fund for projects that will raise awareness or shine a light on mental wellbeing in the LGBTQ+ community. The fund is being launched with support from the LGBTQ+ Voice & Influence Partnership.
Funded projects will result in people being more informed and aware of what good mental wellbeing or mental health looks like for people who identify as LGBTQ+.
There are four one-off funding grants of up to £250 available. This is a total funding pot of £1000 available.
Ideally, projects will engage a range of people, including;
- trans people
- older people who identify as LGBTQ+
- those who identify as non-binary
- members of BAME communities who identify as LGBTQ+
Sam, on behalf of the LGBTQ+ Mental Health Steering Group, said:
“We are excited this launch this fund as one of the first projects of the LGBTQ+ Mental Health Lived Experience Steering Group. The fund will support people and groups with ideas of how to raise awareness of mental wellbeing in our community, and we can’t wait to help bring those ideas to life.”
Henry Poultney, Team Manager of LGBTQ+ Youth Work and Development at Off the Record (Bristol), said:
“Members of the LGBTQ+ Voice & Influence Partnership are joining forces with the LGBTQ+ Mental Health Lived Experience Steering Group to deliver funding to individuals and organisations in our local area. We believe that this funding programme will help raise awareness of what positive mental health and wellbeing looks like in the LGBTQ+ community; providing opportunities for new and existing groups to lead the way in making change and creating safe spaces.”
Tom Renhard, CEO of the Independent Mental Health Network, said:
“We know that in the right hands, a little can go a long way – this fund will help bring projects to life. Our network is dedicated to challenging mental health stigma, and this is a great opportunity for people who need support to get their project going.”
Anyone from either the Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire area who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community can apply for a grant. Organisations can also apply. Organisations do not need to be legally constituted but do require a governing document.
Click here to download an application form. The form will download to your computer in a Microsoft Word document format. If you need an alternative format, or a paper copy of the form, please get in touch.
Any questions about the fund, the Steering Group, or the application form, should be directed to . Applications for this round of funding must be submitted by Monday 26 October 2020 at 09:00.
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Notes to editors
Press contact/enquiries: press[@]imhn.org (take care to remove the square brackets from this email address)
What is the LGBTQ+ Mental Health Lived Experience Steering Group?
This group is a working group in which members can discuss issues, challenges and opportunities particular to the mental wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people. But we don’t just want to talk about these things; we want to help change and develop them. As a team, we’ll be creating and working on projects with the aim to drive positive change for our community within the services.
Why is the group operating in the Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire areas?
The health systems of these areas have becoming increasingly unified over recent years. Many mental health services are provided across these three areas collectively. Therefore, the Steering Group works to influence services and support across this combined locality.
What is the Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN)?
IMHN supports and facilitates the running of the Steering Group, and is supporting the administration of this grant fund. IMHN are a member-led organisation that work for and in the interests of people with lived experience of mental health. The network supports work improving local mental health services, contribute and campaign on mental health matters happening both locally and nationally, and actively challenge mental health stigma by working with partner organisations.
What is OTR Bristol?
OTR Bristol is an organisation that provides support to young people aged between 11 and 25 in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire areas. They support the wellbeing of young people who identify as belonging to the LGBTQ+ community via their Freedom project, and are a partner of the local Voice & Influence Partnership.Members of the OTR Bristol team support the running of the Steering Group.
Where can I get further information?
Further reading can be found below.
- Press coverage by Bristol 24/7 covering the launch of the Steering Group: https://www.bristol247.com/lgbtq/features-lgbtq/improving-mental-health-support-for-lgbtq-people/
- A number of members of Bristol Live’s Pink List 2020 support the Steering Group: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/pinc-list-2020-35-most-4508391
- The news article announcing the launch of the Steering Group: https://www.imhn.org/news/bnssg-lgbtq-steering-group
October 9, 2020 at 4:26 pm
Last Friday, the first formal meeting of the BNSSG LGBTQ+ Mental Health Lived Experience Steering Group took place. This was an exciting session because it represented the culmination of a number of planning sessions that have taken place over recent months.
The main part of the meeting was welcoming a co-chair of the local Mental Health & Wellbeing Cell. The main responsibility of this Cell is to allocate emergency funding to support the local mental health system in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
One of the main reasons the Steering Group has formed is because the proposals of how to use emergency funding notably lacked provision for the mental health and wellbeing needs of the LGBTQ+ community. The Steering Group held the Cell to account by raising a number of questions with their guest, including how there can be more embedded co-production with the community in future projects to improve local mental health services.
The Steering Group looks forward to working with the Cell in order to improve dedicated mental health support for people who identify as LGBTQ+. Future meetings of the group will look at future projects that will raise awareness of mental health within the LGBTQ+ community.
October 2, 2020 at 12:45 pm
Give us the benefit of your experience
Get involved with the South Gloucestershire Wellbeing Network.
Be part of establishing a vocal and influential group that will speak out about mental health support in South Gloucestershire.
The network is a working collaboration between Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, The Independent Mental Health Network and South Gloucestershire Council to provide a platform for people with lived experience of mental ill health. The group will discuss experiences of local mental health support, and work to influence services provided in the South Gloucestershire area.
The network currently meets on the first and third Thursday of the month between 10:00 – 11:00am.
The poster for the network can be seen below.
August 27, 2020 at 11:10 am
Click here to be taken to the webpage for the LGBTQ+ Wellbeing Fund
The Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN) is a membership-led organisation that represents a diverse community of past, current and future users of mental health services, as well as those with lived experience of mental health.
By working together, we believe that we can be a force for positive change in the way that mental health is treated, perceived, and recognised.
Our branches lead on work to improve local mental health services, campaign for reforms and changes to the negative ways that mental health problems can be viewed, and act as a local voice for those with a diverse range of lived experiences.
In partnership with Off the Record’s LGBTQ+ Voice and Influence project we are developing a dedicated LGBTQ+ Steering Group for the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) areas to help create a safe and effective space for members of the LGBTQ+ community to come together. Members of the group will be able to voice their lived experience of trying to access mental health support and the quality of any support received.
This will be a working group in which members can discuss issues, challenges and opportunities particular to the mental wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people. But we don’t just want to talk about these things; we want to help change and develop them. As a team, we’ll be creating and working on projects with the aim to drive positive change for our community within the services.
Membership of the group is open to LGBTQ+ individuals across BNSSG and we are keen to ensure that membership grows to fully reflect the diversity within the LGBTQ+ community.
Members of the IMHN team will facilitate Zoom meetings. There will be space for open discussion and identification of key priorities in which the group would like to campaign for change or increased awareness of LGBTQ+ needs.
Group engagement, highlighted issues and resulting project work will be regularly fed back thematically and anonymously into the wider IMHN membership in order to increase awareness of LGBTQ+ needs and experiences. We believe that this will be particularly helpful for the awareness of organisational representatives that attend external meetings, and will ensure that voices of the LGBTQ+ community can be heard and responded to by commissioners and service providers in order to bring about meaningful change.
Please note that meetings will be taking place virtually for the time being. Should meetings be scheduled in-person, out-of-pocket travel expenses associated with attending will be reimbursed. This includes costs like bus tickets or car parking. Should your require taxi this will need to be agreed in advance.
If you’d like to get involved, click here to express your interest
Diversity Statement
This group welcomes all people. As an LGBTQ+ collective, we want to engage people across the spectrums of gender identity and sexuality, race and ethnicity. A person’s faith or beliefs, their relationship status, their employment and housing situations, and their mental and physical health needs are accepted without prejudice or judgement.
We exist to celebrate our rich diversity within our community and to work together. As people of diverse backgrounds, we can help create change that will bring a significant benefit to the community, and to the wider world.
The pandemic has uncovered the inequalities that have been beneath the surface of our society for decades. We believe that the best way forward is to join together and create a safe space for ourselves. We are not a minority and we do not have to be marginalised.
Our differences make us strong. They give us the chance to learn, explore and grow. It’s in our differences that we will find our commonalities and, through sharing our knowledge and experience freely and without fear, we can bring about real change. We can beat oppression and discrimination together.
August 25, 2020 at 10:38 am
There are three branches of the Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN) in the South West. These are the BIMHN in Bristol; Clarity-NSIMHN in North Somerset; and South Gloucestershire IMHN.
Branches and members of branches support local projects improving mental healthcare and support in their respective areas, as well as working together on projects that take place across the combined BNSSG (Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire) area. This post contains some more information about some opportunities that we are looking for people to put themselves forward for.
If you would like to apply for any of the roles listed below, click here to complete the application form. When completing the form, please select the role you are interested in on the third question. If, for any reason, you are unable to complete the online application form, please get in touch by emailing engagement[at]imhn.org.
1. Represent BIMHN on the Bristol Women’s Commission Health Task Group
The Bristol Women’s Commission Health Task Group meets quarterly, and meetings currently focus on the impact of COVID-19 on women’s health.
BIMHN has a place reserved at these meetings for one of our members to attend and represent the network. If you identify as a woman, live in Bristol, and are a member of BIMHN; we would like to invite you to put yourself forward as our rep for this meeting.
Meetings of the Task Group will last for two hours. If you have any other questions, please get in touch by sending an email to the email address above.
2. Join the BNSSG COVID-19 Lived Experience Steering Group
IMHN’s branches in the South West are continuing to support the work of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Mental Health and Wellbeing Cell. The Cell is part of a wider structure in the South West that is co-ordinating the health and care system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the group formed, it has helped shape the branding of the new 24/7 mental health telephone support line; and is currently reviewing and inputting into proposals about how the local mental health system will respond to the anticipated surge in the number of people experiencing mental health problems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you live in either the Bristol, North Somerset, or South Gloucestershire areas; and have lived experience of mental health, we are inviting you to apply to join the steering group. Click here for more information and details of how to apply.
3. Apply to be a lived experience representative trauma-informed practice subgroup
As mentioned above, IMHN are supporting the work of the BNSSG Mental Health and Wellbeing Cell. This includes supporting lived experience representatives to attend subgroups of the Cell; subgroups are dedicated to a particular aspect of the mental health system.
We are seeking an additional representative to attend fortnightly meetings of the trauma-informed practice subgroup. This group focuses on developing services that will take a trauma-informed approach in how they work with people accessing these services. The group will also be about building the case for culture change, and the development of a knowledge and skills framework for trauma-informed practice going forward.
August 16, 2020 at 7:56 pm
A new immediate emotional and practical support helpline
An NHS, free, confidential 24/7 helpline has launched, provided by Vita Health Group, in partnership with Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
The service is called 24/7 Support & Connect. This line is staffed by experienced counsellors, who you can talk to and they will listen. They will offer emotional support and can connect you to organisations available in Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG).
The helpline is for people aged 18 and over who are living within BNSSG or are registered with a GP within BNSSG.
For immediate emotional and practical support call 0800 012 6549.
(textphone users dial 18001 followed by 0800 0126549)
If English isn’t your first language we can arrange for a translator to support your call.
If you are 17 or under please call the Children and Young People’s helpline via AWP’s Single Point of Access phoneline on 0300 303 1320.
For more information, please click here to visit the Vita Health Group website.
August 12, 2020 at 9:56 am
In recent months, local mental health organisations and service providers have come together from across the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) area to form the BNSSG Mental Health & Wellbeing Cell. This Cell is part of a wider structure in the South West that is co-ordinating the health and social care response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN) and its branches in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, are supporting the Cell’s work, by facilitating a Lived Experience Steering Group. This group scrutinises the work of the Mental Health & Wellbeing Cell, in order to ensure that people with lived experience of both mental health and accessing mental health services are able to help shape what the Cell is doing.
We are looking for people with lived experience of mental health and accessing mental health services; who live in either the Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire areas; to join this steering group as representatives.
Representatives will attend fortnightly steering group meetings (that may move to monthly frequency in the future). The steering group will comment on, evaluate, and feedback into various pieces of work being undertaken by the wider Cell. A participation payment of £25 per two-hour meeting will be paid to representatives.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please click here to fill out a form to express your interest.
At the third question, please select ‘Bristol North Somerset & South Gloucestershire – COVID-19 Lived Experience Steering Group.’
We are particularly interested in receiving applications from LGBTQ+; or Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
If you have any questions, please email engagement[at]imhn.org, and a member of the team will get back to you.
July 20, 2020 at 10:35 pm
Tom Renhard, IMHN’s CEO, has been supporting the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to co-produce the The Working with People and Communities Charter, which represents a new commitment to working with the community to plan future health services.
The Charter has been co-produced by the CCG and members of its Patient and Public Involvement Forum (PPIF). This forum includes members of the public with first-hand experience of services, and patient groups from across the region who reflect the views of wider communities. The charter outlines the vision for the work that the CCG undertakes, and the principles they will seek to follow.
Tom is quoted in the CCG’s press release announcing the launch of the charter. Read what he has to say about the CCG’s new commitment by clicking here (this weblink takes you to the CCG’s news and updates pages).
July 10, 2020 at 11:38 am