ABOUT HEAR US

To promote, educate, communicate and empower, for the benefit
and interest of people affected by mental health issues

Hear Us is Croydon's Mental Health Service User Group which acts as a coordinating body to facilitate, and ensure service users involvement in, the planning, delivery and monitoring of mental health services in Croydon. Helping to improve the quality of the services commissioned and delivered in Croydon

Hear Us Charity objectives

To relieve the needs of people living in the London Borough of Croydon and surrounding areas who have mental health problems by provision of services and advice
To advance education about mental health for the public benefit in the London borough of Croydon and surrounding areas with the object of creating awareness and reducing the stigma attached to mental health

Represents the views of people that use the local mental health services in Croydon to service providers and commissioners.
Contributes to the local mental health promotion agenda, and promotes positive mental health within the local community.
Promotes mutual respect and equality of rights and opportunities, regardless of disability, with particular reference to local mental health service users and service survivors

We attend regular committee meetings with South London and Maudsley Trust (SLAM) and Croydon Primary Care Trust (PCT), and other planning and monitoring meetings to represent the voice of service users by ensuring service user representation at these meetings. We are looking to recruit service users as volunteers to participate at these foresaid meetings, please call us on 020 8681 6888 if you would like to get involved.

We also promote empowerment by influencing decision making by organising and facilitating ‘Linkworking Session’ in adult mental health service statutory services.

Fortnightly on Gresham 1 (Female Ward at Bethlem Royal Hospital)
Fortnightly on Gresham 2 (Male Ward at Bethlem Royal Hospital)
Fortnightly at Selhurst Road (Rehab Unit)
Fortnightly on Foxley Lane (Female Community Unit)
Fortnightly on Ashburton Road (Male Community Unit)
Croydon’s CMHT resource centres
And other groups will follow at venues around the Borough.

At these meetings you will be able to:

raise your concerns about the service you receive
feed back and give constructive criticism that could influence decision making
identify areas where your Centre/Service can improve
identify areas where you feel unsupported
and get those ‘grumbles of disapproval’ heard

We will soon draw our attention to voluntary and community services and so we are currently setting up Link Workers to help form and hold these Groups

If you think a your centre/group needs a ‘Linkworking Project which would voice your collective opinions and influence current and future policies made by the providers; then please contact us on 020 8681 6888

We also produce a quarterly service user newsletter, and maintain a web site, which includes information about our organisation, the Croydon User Council, local and national service and includes details of Self Management programmes.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To actively campaign with users on issues raised by users themselves.
To reach out to all service users to encourage and support participation in the Croydon User Council.
To actively oppose discrimination against service users in Croydon.
To support a user council in which to discuss and debate current concerns.
To offer service users a communication platform for the constructive exchange of ideas on issues affecting them.
To campaign for improvements in mental health services.
To provide a wide range of information about local/national services and issues that concern users of mental health services in Croydon, through our Newsletter and Web site