Marsh Charitable Trust – Marsh Award for Mental Health Peer Support: Creativity and Innovation

Marsh Award for Mental Health Peer Support: Creativity and Innovation

These Awards are run in partnership with Mind and wider Peerfest partners and recognise excellence in peer led support for those experiencing mental health problems.

Peer support happens when people work together, or support each other, from their lived experience. It can take place informally and formally, in all sorts of settings such as in user led organisations, projects, support groups and in the workplace. It means different things to different people. It may also be called self help, befriending/wellbeing groups, meet ups, or mentoring. It also can take place online through digital means.

This Award recognises peer support groups that run artistic activities and think outside the box to provide new ways to support those struggling with mental health.

Nominations for the Award are judged by an independent panel of people with peer support expertise, others with lived experience, and representatives from Peerfest partner organisations.

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The Big Fandango and S.H.E - She-roes Lounge 2023

The Big Fandango

The Big Fandango is a suicide prevention organisation in Bury, an area that suffers with higher-than-average suicide figures. It is run by a mother bereaved by suicide and all of their suicide prevention work is peer-led, including their monthly group for families and the annual vigil that they hold to remember those lost to suicide. Their monthly training has reached over 400 community members, and they also run traditional craft sessions to encourage members to express their feelings through art, and sell these in their shop area to raise much needed funds. The Big Fandago gives families affected by suicide a place to go to reduce their social isolation and build confidence in asking for help. They believe that suicide prevention is about communities coming together to support one another, and by offering training to the community to encourage mental wellbeing helps to prevent people from reaching crisis point. By engaging with their community in a positive and fun way, the Big Fandago gets them to also work with them on the serious side of suicide prevention training.

S.H.E – She-roes Lounge

S.H.E is a community group for adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse, sexual violence and rape. These women suffer from debilitating mental health conditions as a result of their trauma and can find that they are isolated due to the taboo around what they have experienced. The group was founded in 1998 by survivors who found that the therapy they had for an hour a week was not enough to help them, and they now support over 1,200 people. Through a weekly social group, which consists of a whole day of activities, they aim to support survivors to create positive, healthy relationships with other people and reduce their isolation. S.H.E also welcomes people from the local community who are able to offer new activities and skills to share with the survivors. They also offer one-to-one sessions where members are offered a safe space to talk about any individual issues they may be having and develop plans to help them further in the future.

Previous Winners

Misery, Mothers Uncovered and Survivors of Depression in Transition

Misery (Star Project)

Misery was created in 2018 as a space for members to be able to be involved with social activities, but also receive the support that they need to manage their mental health. Since it was founded, Misery has been dedicated to supporting the mental health of a wide cross-section of society and people of all backgrounds. The group is also a sober collective, supporting those with addictions and histories of problematic substance misuse. They work to support people in poverty by offering their services and events for free. They run events in the UK and internationally, with the parties they put on offering space to dance as well as access to much-needed mental health resources. During the pandemic, they ran online groups so that their members across the world could continue to receive support.

To hear more about their work, view the video below.

Mothers Uncovered

Mothers Uncovered have helped over 2,000 women since 2008 through creative support groups that are focused on the mother, rather than the baby. The groups provide a chance for mothers to connect with new people, creating an environment of trust and mutual respect which can support them throughout their journey of motherhood. The facilitators of the groups are not only mothers, but past participants and many are from low-income backgrounds or are single parents. They understand the emotional, practical and financial difficulties that mothers can face and have formed a strong support system for mothers who may feel isolated. The group workshops encourage discussion amongst the mothers and give participants an opportunity to document their experiences of motherhood through art, singing and other creative activities.

Survivors of Depression in Transition (SODIT)

SODIT started almost 30 years ago, when a group of women got together to start a peer support group at Mind in Sheffield, after they felt they had been let down by the NHS. They now have 14 peer support counsellors and run a variety of activities for members including crafts, storytelling workshops, writing workshops and trauma workshops, through which they support around 150 women. The sessions run by SODIT support people’s mental health and wellbeing by providing them with a safe space to explore and share their stories, while also providing practical advice and support where this is needed. By running storytelling workshops, SODIT help people to change the narrative of their mental health journey and help them to reconnect with their personality that exists outside this diagnosis.