Stories
Ron and Joe: A Short film
Simon and Chris
Simon is 25 and lives in East London. Since experiencing a period of psychosis four years ago, he has found it difficult to rebuild his confidence and social life. He was referred by his occupational therapist, who thought he would benefit from the support a mentor could offer him.
Interested in pursuing a career in the art and design industry, Simon wanted a mentor who he could talk to about his college work and educational decisions.
In December 2006 Simon first met Chris and they now meet up every couple of weeks to chat about how things are going.
It's been good meeting up with Chris. He's a bit like a role model, he's really experienced, informative and I've learnt a lot about what he does, which has been really interesting. He works in Liverpool Street which I admire, I've always admired people who work there.
When we've met up, I come back feeling inspired and extra confident, it's really helped with my social skills. I don't have many friends and it's made a difference having Chris to talk to. I feel much more confident about going to new places, I've now been to lots of art galleries, like the Tate Britain and Modern, which I wouldn't have done before.
It is good that Chris is just a regular guy, a normal person with a job, and not working in mental health. It makes a difference that he's doing it out of his own will and isn't an expert, he's different to talk to and his experiences give me a different view of things.
We usually meet at a café every other week and talk things through. Chris works for a big bank in human resources, and he once took me into his office after hours, which was really cool, we got to wander around the city and look at the buildings and offices, it was really fun to see.
He has changed my view about what options are available to me, and will talk through things with me when I've got a decision to make. I was trying to decide what to study next year; I've just finished a painting and drawing course to build up my portfolio to study art, but I was also thinking about sociology. Chris' sister now works in social care so it was good way of finding out a bit more about it. I've decided to stick with art for the time being and am looking at courses to start in September.
I've been volunteering at Help the Aged, using my IT skills to teach people how to use computers. I was really nervous to begin with but now I really enjoy it. It's great to be around different people and it makes me more confident in my ability to do and experience new things.
Vaz and Abdul
28 year old Vaz is a student living in Greenwich. He has been mentoring Abdul, 22, who lives in East London, since February 2007. Abdul has a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and was referred to the Back to Life scheme by one of his mental health workers.
Vaz found out about the scheme through the internet. After suffering from depression himself, he was keen to use his experiences to help somebody else. He says:
I developed depression when I was nine years old and by the age of 17, I had tried to take my life more than once.
In the Asian community, mental health problems are taboo and it is considered shameful to have any form of emotional weakness. I couldn't tell anyone in my family what I was going through. I think it is especially difficult if you are male - you have to put up a front because it's not masculine to discuss your emotions.
Because I didn't want to appear weak, the only people I could talk to when I was ill were female friends. Although this was comforting in some ways, I would have liked to have spoken to another man who could empathise with my situation. I understand how important it is for Abdul to have another male to talk with. I think I can relate to what he's going through.
At the beginning of our mentoring, I had to build Abdul's trust in me. He would ask questions such as 'why are you doing this?' and 'how long do you have to do this for?' It took some time, but I think it made a difference that I was a volunteer and not a professional. I'm here because I want to be and he appreciates that I truly listen to him and don't try to tell him how he should be feeling, or judge him. This encouraged him to open up to me. He has now even introduced me to his dad and some of his friends.
I've helped Abdul to fill in job applications, and we have been making plans for him to move into his own flat so he can become more independent. Sometimes we just socialise, we've been go-karting, to the IMAX cinema and we'll often pop out for a coffee.
Mentoring Abdul has been harder than I expected, I've learnt to truly listen, which is a lot harder than it sounds.
I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing Abdul progress and being able to help him from my own experiences. I think it's sometimes just a relief for him to get things off his chest and out into the open. He realises now that there is a route out - a route to recovery - and our relationship seems to have awakened his interests. He now wants to get involved with producing his own rap music and organising music events.
Back to Life at Bonkers Fest
Back to Life was at Bonkers Fest on 2nd June 2007 to celebrate madness and promote the expansion of the project into new areas of London.
Jo Brand fired off a canon of bananas to launch the event.
And we asked the people at Bonkers Fest...
We got some interesting responses...
