What we’ve done so far
The Coproduction Network was set up in November 2019 and we’ve done lots of exciting work since then. We have set up projects with specific communities to make meaningful changes to the way Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service works and connect people across the city. We have also made links between people who use the service and decision makers, working towards an equal partnership in shaping how the service works.
We are currently running two projects: LS9 Lives and Leeds LGBT+ Minds. However, if you have any other specific areas of interest, please let us know – it could be the basis for a future project!
Our LS9 Lives project is focused on improving mental wellbeing for people living under the LS9 postcode of Leeds – that includes Burmantofts, Harehills and Richmond Hill, amongst other areas. We are exploring what types of support might be most useful for people in these areas, and how Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service can work alongside the people and community provide that. The project team have been on walkarounds in the LS9 area and made links with local organisations and community centres. We are currently working on building these relationships, with a focus on reducing stigma around mental health and collecting data about people’s experiences with Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service.
Leeds LGBT+ Minds is looking into how to improve mental health for all LGBTQIA+ people in the city. As part of our work, we ran a 6-day Community Wellbeing Festival – featuring both online and in-person events – which invited the LGBTQIA+ community of Leeds to come together to share their experiences of mental health and accessing services, offer feedback, connect with others and enjoy some fun activities. Interested members of the Coproduction Network had the option to help set up the festival, or take part as an attendee. We are currently analysing some of the insight gained at these events. The Leeds LGBT+ Minds team has also contributed to important work on improving service data collection around service users’ gender and sexual orientation, and addressed wider issues facing LGBTQIA+ people – for example, we recently released a statement on conversion therapy laws and the Gender Recognition Act.
Some brief project work has been done on Digital Inclusion and communication between Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service and service users. Although these projects are currently paused, they are having some ongoing influence on changes within the service – for example, letters sent to service users are currently being reviewed, and Coproduction Network members have been invited to have input on this. There may be opportunities for these projects to be resumed in the future.
The Coproduction Network also ran a series of workshops to connect the Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service Partnership Board with service users and explore how coproduced governance and decision-making could work.
