I wanted to take part in the Fixing Futures Young People’s Panel (YPP) because I am passionate about using my lived experience to promote positive change within mental health services. My mission is to empower young people and mitigate the effects of poor mental health by improving the quality of mental health services (MHSs), allowing young people to achieve their full potential in life.

When I accessed mental health support as a young person, I faced several systemic difficulties within the mental healthcare system, which showed me that there is room for improvement in MHSs. I am therefore grateful for the opportunity to be part of the YPP and contribute towards improving the future quality of mental healthcare and support available to young people.

I am most excited to see our work come to life and to see the positive impact we hope to have on young people and their mental health through working with other like-minded young people. Furthermore, I look forward to learning more about research, its processes, and how it can be used to improve the mental health support available.

Currently, I am a dental student at the University of Sheffield and also a patient representative for the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I have been part of the Social Prescribing Youth Network advisory group for several months, and I have taken part in various focus groups and interviews around young people’s mental health. I have also contributed to the framework analysis of a research review about using a chatbot to support young people struggling with self-harm.

Finally, my passion for improving the oral health of individuals with mental health conditions has led me to take part in the co-production process of designing a training manual and resource for patients as part of the SMILE (enabling service users with Severe Mental Illness to Learn about and Engage with good oral health: co-production, feasibility and acceptability of a systems intervention) project.

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I wanted to take part in the Young People’s Panel to help make services more accessible for young people, whether they are in education or not.

I’m most excited about meeting new people and helping young people’s voices to be heard through my experiences and ideas on how to make a difference. I’m someone who has had a challenging time with mental health and limited resources for support, so I understand how important it is to improve access and ensure young people feel supported.

LinkedIn

Hello everyone, I’m Manon, a primary education graduate from North Wales. I’m incredibly passionate about health and wellbeing, accessibility, and inclusion.

I’m thrilled to be part of this amazing review, and I’m looking forward to getting to know other like-minded young people. I’m involved with many youth panels and advisory boards, as I strongly believe that youth voice and influence are essential, and that everyone deserves to be represented, listened to, and heard.

I always appreciate opportunities to share my views and ideas, influence policies on important issues, and develop a range of transferable skills. I love being able to discuss the issues that are important to us, be part of creating positive change, and make a meaningful difference.

As a young person with extensive lived experience of receiving support from both mental and physical health services, I believe that by sharing my thoughts and experiences – both the good and the bad – meaningful and appropriate changes can be made. Lived experience can provide invaluable first-hand insight and help bridge the gap between theory and reality.

I wanted to take part in the Fixing Futures YPP because I’m passionate about improving mental health services for young people by looking at the current faults in the system from both a personal perspective and the shared experiences of other young people. I want to help find solutions that are equitable and inclusive for everyone, ensuring that people from all backgrounds feel comfortable and assured that they will receive the best treatment possible within a reasonable timeframe.

Having used various services such as CAMHS and local organisations like Off The Record and The Well Centre, I understand how difficult it can be to access these services and, once using them, to feel comfortable sharing my experiences and what I was going through.

I have been part of different panels, mainly focused on mental health, but also some relating to wider social action. It has been an incredible experience to be part of meaningful change and a movement to improve the lives of young people. I hope that being part of Fixing Futures can help create long-lasting change for many people.

LinkedIn

I am incredibly invested in helping to change the system in order to better support people, especially during interim waiting times. This opportunity really interested me because I strongly believe that the system should be altered to focus on what young people feel would benefit them, rather than just what is assumed to be helpful.

My primary interests and ambitions lie in policy, and I really hope to specialise in mental health policy in the future.

I am really excited to help provide guidance as part of this review, and I’m enthusiastic about giving my input to help shape it.

I have previously been involved in young people’s advisory groups with Mind, the University of Bath, and the University of Oxford. Alongside the ORIGIN review, I am also a peer researcher.

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This panel member has chosen to remain anonymous, so a pseudonym has been used.

This panel member has chosen to remain anonymous, so a pseudonym has been used.