Summary
Description
Hear Us is Croydon’s only service user group for people with severe and enduring mental illness and our organisation is 100% service user run. This strength gives us a unique insight into the barriers faced by our service users, particularly those also experiencing drug & alcohol misuse or leaving prison. We provide specialist peer support and personal support for our service users with complex mental health issues living in the London Borough of Croydon. We have developed an excellent reputation within the mental health community and supporting services for delivering highly respected service user led and run specialist peer support services. Our practical activities help people to cope better with daily living and help to address financial, social, emotional and physical needs.
The Linkworking Project has been running in Croydon since October 2007. Hear Us has developed and supported a team of peer support Linkworkers to visit Croydon’s inpatient wards and community services.
The post-holder will manage and support our team of Linkworkers to monitor the quality of Croydon’s statutory mental health services. The post holder will provide feedback and help to campaign for improvements to statutory services provided by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM). Hear Us report all project outputs and share our findings with the South West London Integrated Care Board (SWL ICB) and at senior stakeholder meetings across the borough of Croydon. The Linkworking Project will contribute and support Hear Us in representing the voice of Croydon’s service users in the development, planning and commissioning of mental health services.
Linkworkers are trained to listen to the service user’s experiences of mental health services. The Linkworking Project supports service users to have their voices heard and helps them to express their concerns about the treatment and care they receive. Linkworkers also signpost to other mental health services, financial, social inclusion and preventative services.
Our goal is to support service users to develop confidence, and self-esteem and feel empowered through positive discussion and to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people living with mental ill health.
