This Co-production Week, UOK is celebrating the people with lived experience and carers helping to improve mental health and wellbeing support across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex.
Co-production means working alongside people from the start, not asking for feedback once decisions have already been made. It makes sure support is shaped by real experiences, real barriers and real hopes for change.
Using experience to create change
Across Sussex, members of Lived Experience Advisory Groups (LEAGs), supported by Possability People, have shared their experiences to improve how mental health services are designed, delivered and talked about.
Over the past year, people with lived experience and carers have contributed more than 1,500 hours of involvement activity – shaping community mental health services, staff training, communications, service reviews and governance, and working alongside professionals on the Change the Language Guide for more respectful, person-centred conversations about mental health.
One member said:
“Before joining the LEAG, I often felt that decisions about mental health services were made without people like me. Through being involved, I’ve been able to share my experiences and see them influence real changes. It has helped rebuild my confidence and shown me that my experiences have value.”
Making co-production more inclusive
Taking part shouldn’t depend on sitting in long meetings or speaking in front of a group. People need different ways to contribute that feel safe and accessible — and it’s about fairness, making sure the voices too often missed can take part on equal terms.
People have shared their views through written feedback, one-to-one conversations, shorter online sessions and community discussions in familiar settings.
As one member shared:
“I always thought involvement meant sitting in long meetings and speaking in front of lots of people. Finding out there were other ways to take part meant I could finally get involved.”
What involvement can mean
Being involved isn’t only about shaping services. It can also bring confidence, new skills, a stronger sense of purpose and connection with others.
“I joined because I wanted services to improve for people like me. I didn’t expect to end up sitting alongside senior leaders and helping shape decisions,” shared a member of the group.
Many members describe the relationships built through co-production as mattering just as much as the changes achieved – a sense of belonging and shared purpose that keeps people involved.
Why it matters
Mental health support can’t be one-size-fits-all. People’s experiences, identities, communities and needs differ, and support should reflect that. For UOK, co-production is central to creating support shaped not only by policies and processes, but by the people who use it.
This Co-production Week, we want to thank everyone with lived experience and all carers who share their time, insight and expertise to improve mental health support across Sussex — and Possability People, for helping embed co-production across this work so lived experience voices are heard, valued and acted on.
Get involved
You don’t need any special experience to take part — just a willingness to share your own. To find out more about joining a Lived Experience Advisory Group, contact Possability People:
Email gig@possabilitypeople.org.uk
Phone 01273 89 40 45
