Welcome to the second edition of my Community Change Institute blogging series, where each week, I feature a new inspirational group who will be joining us at the upcoming Community Change Institute (CCI) this September 26-30, 2016.
Today, we turn our attention towards See Me Scotland. See Me Scotland is an organization based out of Glasgow, Scotland who are working towards ending mental health stigma and discrimination. This group challenges stigma and discrimination at its roots - wherever people experience it - at work, through health and social care, in education, at home or in local communities.
They are passionate about:
- Ending the situation where people's rights are eroded and undermined by poor attitudes and limited understanding through ignorance or fear
- Bringing an end to the discrimination that sees people with mental health problems facing worse health outcomes than their healthier counterparts
- Ensuring that workers have more positive experiences when they tell their employer they’ve experienced mental health difficulties
- Making sure that young people learn about the importance of their mental health and well-being and are confident to ask for help if they need it
When I asked Eleanor Oglilvie (Program Manager) why she thought it was important to travel across the Atlantic for the Community Change Institute, she said:
"We are delivering a very complex national programme with the aim of ending mental health stigma and discrimination in Scotland. With a small team (4) to deliver a community development approach across 5.5 million people we need to explore a model to help us to engage meaningfully and productively. We feel Community Impact may give us the necessary framework, knowledge and tools to better achieve our aims."
When asked if she could summarize what their single greatest hope for their experience at the Community Change Institute is, Eleanor said:
That we will be the first programme to apply a Collective Impact approach and be able to continue to work with those with expertise in Canada and the USA in brining Collective Impact to Scotland
I welcome you to join See Me Scotland and other inspirational groups for what will be a truly transformational learning experience. One of the incredible aspects of the CCI is that it presents an opportunity to learn directly from leaders in the field of community change - People like See Me Scotland.. and YOU. Additionally, we believe in a participatory, co-generative space for learning so that our members are offered an opportunity to dive deeply into key streams of learning that are foundational to effective community change - we welcome learning in many forms.
To learn about other groups joining us at this year's CCI, see this post below:
Stay Tuned and Join in!
Find these groups intriguing? Join us and meet members from these organizations and more at the upcoming Community Change Institute in September. It will be a gathering you won't want to miss.
Keep a look out for the next edition of my Community Change Institute blog series where I'll feature another inspiring group or invididual that will be joining us at the Community Change Institute. Registered for the event? Get in touch with me, Devon, if you're interested in having your story shared!
Content for this blog was cited from:
See Me Scotland website: https://www.seemescotland.org/
Devon's Interview with: Eleanor Ogilvie, Programme Manager
