MHVC Publishes First Campaign Report and Invites Community to Help Shape Change

The Mental Health Voices Collaboration (MHVC) has published its first campaign report, bringing together the experiences, insights, and concerns shared by people across Wrexham about accessing mental health support.

Developed through a partnership between Together Creating Communities (TCC) and Advance Brighter Futures (ABF), the report marks an important milestone for the campaign and provides a snapshot of what people have told us so far.

Since launching in May, MHVC has been focused on listening to lived experience and creating opportunities for people to speak openly about the realities of accessing mental health support. The report highlights several key themes emerging from those conversations, including:

• People not feeling listened to or taken seriously

• Long waiting lists and delays in accessing support

• Services not always being person-centred or flexible enough

• Difficulties navigating different services and systems

• The need for earlier intervention and support for young people

• Challenges accessing support before reaching crisis point

Alongside these challenges, the report also highlights the value people place on community-based and holistic support, and the importance of ensuring that lived experience remains central to future improvements.

One contribution captured in the report states:

“Most of all, I want services to understand that being listened to can save lives, and being ignored can destroy them.”

The findings reinforce the purpose of MHVC and its guiding E.C.H.O principles: Experience-led, Community Voices, Honest Conversations, and Open Dialogue.

As the campaign develops, MHVC is inviting both individuals and organisations to become involved.

Supporters can help raise awareness, share campaign messages, and encourage others to contribute their experiences.

Collaborators can take a more active role in helping shape and deliver the campaign through planning, engagement activities, and ongoing development work.

Importantly, involvement is not limited to organisations. People with lived experience, carers, family members, and anyone with an interest in improving mental health support locally are encouraged to participate.

The full MHVC Campaign Report can be downloaded below.

If you would like to become a Supporter or Collaborator, or would like to find out more about the campaign, please contact:

Stephen Kenyon-Owen – stephen@tcc-wales.org.uk

Zoe Whitehead – zoe@abfwxm.co.uk

You can also contribute your experiences and ideas through the MHVC online feedback form:

Together, we can ensure that lived experience drives real local change.