A MAJOR ROADSHOW will be rolling into Moray this month providing an opportunity for communities to discuss what mental health recovery means to them.
Organised by the Scottish Recovery Network (SRN), each event will take the form of a ‘conversation café’.
The Roadshow will roll up each day next week to Elgin, Buckie, Lossiemouth, Keith, Forres, Burghead, Dufftown, Aberlour, Cullen, Fochabers, and Tomintoul.
The conversation cafes are for anyone who has been affected by mental health problems either now or in the past. This includes people who have personally faced mental health challenges or those who care for others who have experienced mental health problems.
The events will be informal, relaxed and provide people with an opportunity to hear more about the resources that are available in Moray to support people in their mental health recovery. It will also give people a chance to share their own stories about how they have dealt with mental health challenges and hear from others about what helps them maintain good mental health and wellbeing.
Robert Stevenson from the Scottish Recovery Network said: “We know that people can and do recover from even the most severe mental health problems.
“When we talk about recovery in relation to mental health we are not necessarily talking about a cure but about people being able to live a good life, with or without symptoms. In this sense, everyone can recover from mental health problems but how this recovery is experienced will be unique and different for each individual.”
SRN is working with a range of partners in Moray to develop a new initiative called Making Recovery Real. The local partners involved include The Moray Council, NHS Grampian, tsiMoray and third sector organisations working in the mental health field including SAMH, Penumbra and Moray Anchor Projects.
The overall aim of the Making Recovery Real initiative is to make recovery a central objective of all mental health policies and practice.
One of the partners in the Making Recovery Real initiative is the recently established Moray Wellbeing Hub Champions Network.
This is a network of local people who all have experienced mental health challenges or crisis and want to work together to develop new ways of supporting people facing mental health challenges.
Heidi Tweedie, who is from the Wellbeing Hub network, said they were supporting the Recovery Roadshow events because they would provide an opportunity for local people who have experience of mental health challenges to discuss what assists them to recover and maintain a mentally healthy life.
The events will also be an opportunity for people to hear more about the new joint mental health and wellbeing strategy – Good Mental Health for all in Moray.
The principles and values of recovery underpin the new strategy which will help shape how mental health services in Moray are delivered in the future.
Roadshow Schedule
November 14
Elgin – Moray College H&S Room, 1.30pm to 4pm
Elgin – Elgin Library Activity Room, 5.30pm to 8pm
November 15
Buckie – Buckie Library, 1.30pm to 4pm
Lossiemouth – Youth Café, 5.30pm to 8pm
November 16
Buckie – Phoenix (fully booked)
Keith – Sports & Community Centre, 2.30pm to 5pm
November 17
Forres – Community Centre, 1.30pm to 4pm
Burghead – Library, 5.30pm to 8pm
November 18
Dufftown – Library, 2pm to 4.30pm
Aberlour – Sports & Community Centre, 5.30pm to 8pm
November 19
Cullen – Library, 10am to 12.30pm
Fochabers – 29 High Street, 2pm to 4.30pm
November 20
Tomintoul – Richmond Hall, 1.30pm to 4pm