My commitment and passion to making a
change in the way that mental health is viewed and dealt with in the UK has
seen me embark on some exciting projects. My blog, being a guest speaker,
attending radio interviews, becoming a columnist for The Yorkshire Times and
#ThePressurePlate campaign; they have all stemmed from a desire to be a voice
of honesty about my suffering, but I hope that my next venture will have the
most impact to date.
I have been invited to attend a meeting in
London on 8th June 2016 to be a member of CentreForum's Children and
Young People's Mental Health Commission's Youth Reference Group. CentreForum is
‘an independent think tank that develops evidence-based research to influence
both national debate and policy making.’ This charitable organisation is
devoted to raising the profile of topics and issues within the UK that are
somewhat lacking in priority when it comes to government attention and in many
cases, funding. I will be attending a meeting that specifically focuses on the
current state of mental health services, and consequently, I will have the
opportunity to share my opinions based on my personal experiences. Although not
entirely sure on the format of the event, I am expecting it to be a very
informative, thought provoking and passion driven engagement.
Reading
the April 2016 report on ‘Children and Young People’s Mental Health: State of
the Nation’, I am both horrified and accepting of some of the information
accumulated from their in depth research and surveys. Horrified in terms of the
evidence-based facts regarding referrals, waiting times and treatment
solutions, yet accepting due to experiencing some of these difficulties first
hand.
This
is an opportunity that I feel will not come around often, and I am very thankful
to have been accepted to voice my experiences and opinions about mental health
services in this country. I hope that it will strengthen the efforts of this
organisation, and make a bigger impression on the government’s need to focus on this
area of the health sector.
I
look forward to following up this post with what I hope to be, a very positive
account of my involvement at the meeting!
For those that are interested, here is the
link to CentreForum’s ‘Children
and Young People’s Mental Health: State of the Nation’ report:
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