News from our April event

Plymouth Mental Health Collective
April Event Update

Dear Collective Member,

A huge thank you to everyone who attended our latest Plymouth Mental Health Collective event on Wednesday 15th April at Stoke Damerel Community College.

This was our first event at the new location & we hope you enjoyed it - we’re going to be adding additional signage next time to help navigate the entrance to the venue & make your arrival a little smoother!!

Whether you came from a grassroots project, a statutory service, or simply brought your passion for better mental health support, you made the day what it was.

On the day we explored…

🧠 What We’re About
The Plymouth Mental Health Collective is about bringing everyone to the table -grassroots community groups, frontline workers, larger organisations, and statutory services—because we believe mental health support works best when we’re working together, not in silos. We’re committed to promoting trauma-informed, person-centered care approaches.

Whether you're running a peer-led project or shaping city-wide mental health policy, you have a place in this Collective.

💬 Volunteering & Mental Health
Thank you to Karen, Sue & Kate from The Village Hub in Stoke, who ran an interactive workshop exploring how to improve the mental wellbeing of volunteers.

🤝 The First Response Service
Tom & Michelle from Livewell gave us an insightful presentation into how the First Response Service was created, runs on a daily basis & some of the challenges their team encounters.

🫂Peer Research, Lived & Living Experience
Deb from the Changing Futures project presented an overview of how co-production involving Peer Researchers and the CF Plymouth programme have helped shape how the city listens, learns, and leads.

💡 Spotlights:

• Changing Futures Project what’s happening next for the Peer Research Network. Look out for exciting news coming in June…..

• Open Mic gave space to voices in the room & a chance to share news, updates & offers—thank you for your stories, questions, and courage.

• Networking over food and continued conversation, ideas flowed. We hope you made new connections that will carry on beyond the room.

A Moment for Reflection

We are very sorry to share the sad news that Dr Alison Battersby has passed away recently following a sudden illness. Her professionalism, resilience, and strength left a lasting impression on many of us. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.

An online memorial page has been set up and everyone is very welcome to leave a message or memory of Alison - https://alisonkeirl.muchloved.com/

Save the Dates For Our Next PMHC Events 📅

We’re delighted to tell you that our next 2 events have confirmed dates so please be sure to add them to your diaries. More details will follow closer to the time.

Venue - Stoke Damerel Community College

⭐ Wednesday, 29 Jul 2026 - 10am -12.30pm

⭐ Wednesday, 28 Oct 2026 - 10am -12.30pm

Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Open Day

🌿 This free event will bring together a wide range of fantastic community groups and organisations to showcase the many activities and services available across the city that support positive mental health — from walking and art groups to peer
support networks and drop-in connection spaces.
14th May 2026, 12pm - 4pm

ADHD Peer Support Groups - In person & online

How to book: www.eventbrite.co.uk – search ADHD peer support group

The Devon Mental Health Alliance ,
has an online Learning Network, which you can explore at www.mentalhealthdevon.co.uk/learning-network.
As part of this platform, there’s an Events Calendar, and we’d love to feature your organisation’s events and activities on it! Whether you’re running workshops, drop-in sessions, community meetups, or any other activity that supports mental health and wellbeing, we want to help spread the word and encourage local people to get involved.

PMHC is on YouTube,
visit our channel to see highlights of all our events https://www.youtube.com/@The_PMHC

Next Steps:

• Got feedback or something you didn’t get to say on the day? Get in touch via email, [email protected] or follow us on Facebook.

• Stay tuned for our next gathering – we’re already cooking up ideas and would love your input.

• What would you like to see at the next event?

• Do you have something to share?

Let’s keep showing that community, care, and collaboration can be the foundation of a better mental health system.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email.

With gratitude,
The PMHC Team