NSUN news

Mental Health Awareness Week special:

• Call for participation in research

• Queen's Speech 2016 

• Mental Health Awareness Week

• Upcoming NSUN events

Keeping control: Participants needed for research project

Keeping Control: Exploring mental health service user perspectives on targeted violence and hostility in the context of adult safeguarding

Middlesex University is looking for 30 participants aged 18 years and up for a user-led study exploring service user experiences of being victimized because of their mental health problems and what adult safeguarding should do.

The research is exploring what people with mental health problems think and feel about abuse and staying safe from harm. The organisers want to learn from you so that the process of 'adult safeguarding' will work better for people with mental health problems and support them to stay safe. 

The researchers would particularly like to hear from marginalised voices: people from black and minority ethnic communities, lesbian, gay and bisexual people, transgender people and disabled people.

Each interview participant will receive a £10 voucher as a token of thanks.

if you are interested in being interviewed please download and complete the recruitment monitoring form at the project webpage.

The information you give on this form will remain strictly confidential but it will help to monitor and plan research interviews so as to include people from a wide range of backgrounds.

The recruitment deadline is 13 June 2016.

If you have any questions about the research please email the researchers

Queen's Speech 2016 - highlights which caught our attention

Mental health mentioned in the speech

21 new bills were introduced in this year's Queen's Speech. Mental health was mentioned as part of two of these new bills:

PRISON AND COURTS REFORM BILL
'Action will also be taken to ensure better mental health provis ion for individuals in the criminal justice system.'

POLICING AND CRIME BILL
'At present there is an over reliance on the use of police cells as ‘places of safety’ when dealing with people experiencing a mental health crisis. The Bill bans the use of police cells as places of safety for under 18s.'

Plans for a British bill of rights to replace the Human Rights Act

The speech confirmed the government’s plans to repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. This new bill of rights 'will be based on the European Convention of Human Rights but will also take account of English common law'. The government’s notes accompanying the Queen’s Speech do state that the government “will consult fully on the proposals when they are published in due course”, although no timetable has been provided at this stage.  

You can also view the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR)  press release on the Human Rights Pledge signed by 135+ organisations here.

Queen's Speech - some resources

• Read the speech in full here
• Read the related gov.uk publication
• Analysis of the speech by the Independent
• The Guardian's verdict
• BBC review including a bill-by-bill summary.

The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week is relationships - the forgotten foundation of mental health and wellbeing.

Yesterday the Mental Health Foundation held a mental health seminar hosted and chaired by James Morris MP. The key note speech  delivered by Professor Tanya Byron,

This was followed by a panel discussion featuring:

• Jenny Edwards CBE, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation
• The Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister of State for Community and Social Care
• Luciana Berger MP, Shadow Minister for Mental Health
• Norman Lamb MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health
• Dr Philippa Whitford MP, SNP Spokesperson for Health

The event launched the report 'Relationships in the 21st Century' which can be downloaded free here.

Read the twitter feeds from the event here.

Upcoming events

Thrive: Building for a better future - our annual gathering - 8 June, Birmingham. Booking essential.
Please take a look here

Co produced innovation in mental health - 15 June, London.
More information here

Mental health and cultural diversity - 22 to 24 June, Leicester.
More details here

#NSUNthrive10 campaign

We have survived!  To enable us to continue to connect, communicate and influence, we need your help. Please spread the word to help raise funds to continue our work through our #NSUNthrive10 campaign. You can also raise money by shopping online with the  Giving Machine.