Real voices, real change: putting lived experience at the heart

John Truong on the importance of next month’s World Mental Health Day

A green field with darker greens in the background alongside electricity pylons — Fields next to the railway by Malcolm Neal, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

World Mental Health Day on 10th October is a chance to talk openly about mental health. It reminds us that all of our wellbeing matters all year round, not just on one day.

It’s an opportunity to challenge stigma, raise awareness and think about how we can better support people across our communities. This year’s focus is particularly powerful: ‘lived experiences heard: real voices, real change’.

For communities across Barnet, this theme is a chance to recognise something that can sometimes be overlooked, the importance of listening to the people who have actually experienced mental health difficulties themselves.

Everyone’s experience of mental health is different. Each person has their own story, shaped by what they have lived through, who they have leaned on, and what has helped them keep going. There can also be experiences of recovery, resilience and finding new ways to manage wellbeing.

There’s no single story of mental health. That’s why lived experience should sit at the heart of these conversation, because real voices can help us understand what support, recovery and connection can truly look like.

These stories of lived experience can be moving and solemn, but they can also be heart-warming, hopeful and inspiring. A personal story can show another person that recovery is possible, that support can make a difference, and that they do not have to face things alone.

Someone who is struggling may hear a story that sounds like their own. A brother, sister, friend or neighbour may gain a little more understanding of what a loved one is going through. For organisations providing support, these voices are a reminder to listen carefully to the people who use their services and learn from what they say.

Lived experience is not only about giving people the opportunity to speak. It’s also about creating safe, non-judgemental spaces where people feel able to tell their story in their own time and in their own way.

Being able to share what you are experiencing with someone who will listen can lift a weight from your shoulders. For some, it can feel incredibly freeing.

Nobody should ever feel pressured to share before they are ready, but when the right support is there, being heard can be a powerful first step towards feeling less alone.

In this spirit, ahead of World Mental Health Day, Meridian Wellbeing, the Barnet Wellbeing Hub and partner organisations are coming together for a special World Mental Health Day and Hub Connections event on Tuesday, 6th October at the Meritage Centre in Hendon.

The event will bring people and organisations from across the local community together to connect, share ideas and celebrate the diversity, strength and compassion that exists across Barnet.

This year’s focus on lived experience will be central to the event, with opportunities to connect with people’s stories, take part in physical wellbeing activities and enjoy a live music performance. We all connect and communicate in different ways, and the day is being shaped with that in mind.

Whether through conversation, movement, music or simply being alongside others, there will be something for everyone. Above all, it will be a chance to recognise the power of community coming together and to encourage more people to feel part of it.

The event will also highlight the important role of peer support, local community spaces and volunteering. Meridian Wellbeing’s Wellbeing Cafés, including the volunteers who help make them welcoming and supportive places to connect, will be a key feature. Community spaces like these can provide something that is sometimes difficult to find when we are struggling.

Even when we work in mental health and wellbeing every day, we can still need someone to talk to. We all need connection, and we all find it in different ways. For one person it might be a conversation over a cup of tea. For another, it might be volunteering, music, movement, faith, friendship or simply knowing there is somewhere they can go.

We may not have experienced exactly the same thing as someone else, but many of us know what it feels like when life affects us, or someone we care about, in a difficult way. That shared understanding matters. There is someone who will listen. There’s someone who cares.

That’s how listening can become action – by helping us build more responsive, inclusive and human support for local communities.

Whether you have personal experience of mental health difficulties, have supported someone else, volunteer in your community, work in health and care, or simply want to understand more, your voice matters. And so does your willingness to listen to someone else’s.

This World Mental Health Day, let’s make space for real stories, listen without judgement and think about what we can do differently all year round.

Because real voices can lead to real change, and that change can start right here in Barnet.

To join us please register at: bit.ly/HUB0610

John Truong is head of operations at Meridian Wellbeing

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