Lived Experience Forum

[Zoe7]

BTW @Teej - it is not just a certain little turtle that would be struggling with this description ...mmmm!

The new design is not to my liking either - not as inviting or 'calm'. There are also flaws in the layout where some words overlap ie. times posts made ...and it is very BIG. Struggling with the black and white and colours too - feels very 'cheap'. I do wish the community had been consulted in the changes!

[Emelia8]

Agree wholeheartedly with you both @Zoe7 @Teej about the newly minted description about who SANE is here for. It seems to exclude a lot of needy people. 😔

And yes,  I too am struggling with this big bold black and white unfriendly distorted looking design @Daisydreamer Maybe it will grow on me over time,  but for now it feels all wrong. 😱

[Zoe7]

@Emelia8 😢 Agree...

[Zoe7]

@Teej @Emelia8 You might like to read this - SANE Strategic Plan 2022 - just published and explains where SANE is heading 😔

[Emelia8]

Thanks for directing me to the Strategic Plan @Zoe7 😊🐶

I will need time to go through it all.  Though I had a bit of a quick browse, and can see where you got the new definition of who SANE is now here for - in the Vision bit.

[Zoe7]

It is also the first thing you see on the website in the 'About Us' section @Emelia8 - not at all inviting for all. I had a read of most of the plan and can see very clearly that the vision forward is not inclusive of all so am seriously considering (again) if this is the place for me. In my opinion, separating us all out into labels is actually stigmatising for all and goes completely against what SANE is supposed to be about. Growth is sometimes good but exclusion is not ...sorry to have 'simple' mental health issues because we are not included ...is this a way to push us out into other services? SANE has been such a big part of my recovery journey but I am afraid of this direction for people like me - I would not have joined initially if this was the description I read then and wonder how alienating this may now be for many.

[tyme]

Thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts @Zoe7 @Emelia8 @Teej .

We have are aware of and have received your feedback. 

Stay tuned,

tyme

[Emelia8]

All I can say @Zoe7 is 'yep' I agree.  And I too find it sad and alienating,  and ask myself if its still the place I thought it was. And ponder that same question about whether its still for me,  and even go so far as to wonder if I am welcome here any more. Am I to be gently levered out,  as a "no longer qualified" member? 

Feeling sad and lost about it all. 

Thanks @tyme 

[Zoe7]

Yes, yes and yes @Emelia8 the same for all that you have said ...but also to let you know that whatever this turns out to be, whatever changes come and for 'whoever' it is meant to be for - you my dear are a part of the SANE community and WILL ALWAYS be welcome here by your friends. No changes in policy, procedures, membership direction or 'vision' for the future can take away the friends you have made nor the RIGHT you have to be here. This is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed but does not take away from the journeys we have been on here together. I am grateful for what SANE has previously provided in my own journey but do now very much worry about who will be alienated from receiving the same amazing support I have received. Watch this space I suppose and see what actually comes of it - then see where we stand.

[Millieme]

I actually really like the breadth of the wording for who Sane is for. There are not many spaces where people with a complex array of challenges are welcomed and supported but there are so many options for mild/moderate mental health challenges or more focussed issues like anxiety/depression. Even the online mental health options like mindspot etc do not cater for complex needs.

I don't mind the extended welcome that explicitly states autism and intellectual disability - if we are scared of the labels or react to the labels, whose stigma is that? To have a space that directly states that we will be welcome and actively accepted is inclusive sounding to me. 

There are probably no 'words' which will please all and the functionality of the forums is decided/acted on by the user themselves to a large degree. 

I have worried about the restricted services to certain funded areas and the impact on the availability to anyone who needs the services but that is a seperate issue and definitely tied to funding opportunities from what i gather.