This event was open to the community so there was a mixture of people from members of the public to GP’s and some service providers. At this event, presentations were made by organisations supporting people in the local area. Jo Smithson spoke on behalf of the GP link workers, Debs Cruden spoke on behalf of Penumbra and the Wellbeing Centre, Jan Mcpherson spoke on behalf of tsiMoray and our own Chris Ritchie spoke passionately and confidently on behalf of The Moray Wellbeing Hub.
After these presentations to inform people what services were available in the Forres Area to support people with their mental health we broke into six tables to discuss further how these services were working and where there was room for improvement. There was a facilitator at each table and I was one of them. This was quite an edge for me on my home turf but the atmosphere was friendly and everyone was engaged the dialogue. My job was to keep the conversation going and make sure everyone had an opportunity to speak. After I got over my initial nerves and realised I don’t need to know all the answers, I quite enjoyed the evening.
My own GP was there. I have not had much cause to see her of late but a few years ago when I was in crisis she saw me at my worst and was a tremendous support then. There was something really precious in her witnessing me looking well, being well and having a role in the evening s proceedings. I gave her a hug and we both looked knowingly at each other. There was a number of MWH Champions at the event, which always feels great to have comrades in the room.
Marion, MWH Champion
