Lost Luggage rises again!
Across the country different groups are doing some fantastic work in terms of participation and raising awareness of mental health issues. Lost Luggage is a young peoples group within Lincolnshire which hopes to be able to be recognised nationally for being innovative in reducing stigma associated with mental health, as well as providing feedback on the mental health services provided to young people across Lincolnshire.
Lost Luggage began in 2008 with a small group of young people. Their achievements in the following two years included a participation day held at PGL Caythorpe and a young people’s panel which helped in the selection and appointment of new staff in LPFT CAMHS. The membership then dwindled as members went off to university and Lost Luggage lay fallow for a while.
This year, several Child and Family Services staff have given their own time and money to revitalise the group. Once they were joined by a couple of young people, their efforts gained momentum and on Saturday November 26th 2011 Lost Luggage had their first large meeting since recruiting new members. A total of 11 young people attended along with 5 members of staff across Lincolnshire. The age range of young people was from 11 to18 years.
Rose Panumudipo from the national participation body Very Important Kids hosted by YoungMinds gave a talk in the morning about what participation is and how Lost Luggage can be involved with YoungMinds.
In the afternoon two groups worked in parallel.
One group looked at developing a presentation which they will be presenting to the Child & Family Steering Group in the New Year to showcase the fantastic work they have already done and the work they hope to do in the future. The presentation will look at how the group could offer the Trust valuable information and feedback. They also talked about how this could be a positive move forward in terms of service user participation within the Trust.
The second group looked at fundraising ideas. Lost Luggage is now a registered charity and although it is not currently funded from within LPFT this is something the group are hoping for in the near future.
Some of the ideas the group had were
- Bag packing at local super markets
- Sponsored walks and runs
- Selling crafts
- Baking
- Car washing
- Charity Prom
The young people felt shy at first but by the end of the day they had worked really hard and come up with some fantastic ideas. The group will continue to meet approximately once a month and they hope that this is the start of something really valuable for service users and LPFT
If you would like further information about Lost Luggage please contact Amy Havenhand, Nurse Specialist C&FS on 01522 535 189 or e mail us on lostluggage@lpft.nhs.uK
