Plymouth REG awarded Innovation Fund grant for educational workshops
The Devon Mental Health Alliance Innovation Fund has been awarded to the Plymouth Mental Health Recovery & Empowerment Group (Plymouth REG) by our Community Mental Health Development Leads in Plymouth & West Devon.
Plymouth REG is a collaboration between mental health professionals and people with lived experience of mental health challenges. Using the members’ different forms of expertise about recovery, they develop and deliver educational workshops on a variety of topics related to understanding and managing mental health challenges and improving wellbeing.
The workshops benefit people by informing them about ways to understand and manage their experiences, giving them tools and strategies they can use. People also benefit from hearing the experiences of and connecting with others who have been through similar difficulties, which can help them feel validated, more hopeful, less isolated, and challenge stigma.
Upon receiving their grant, Elina Baker of Plymouth REG commented:
“This funding will mean that we are able to continue to deliver our co-produced workshops on understanding and living well with a range of mental health challenges. We want to give everyone the opportunity to learn that mental health recovery is possible, from the people who have experienced it, and help them find the tools that work for them or people they support.
We also want people to have the chance to share what they’ve learnt on their recovery journeys, as this can be empowering for everyone. Our initial workshops have been very popular and we’ve had some really positive feedback, so we’re delighted to be able to continue to provide them, and offer new workshops, as we grow and develop as an organisation.”
If you work for a VCSE organisation in any area of Devon that is working towards delivering innovative support to people experiencing severe mental illness (particularly a small grassroots organisation), why not apply for an award from our Innovation Fund? Grants of up to £800 are available.