What do we do?
STUN aims to be the voice of mental health service users in Stirling. Join with us to make that voice louder, stronger and more effective.
STUN is a 'collective advocacy' organistion for people who have, or have had mental health issues. We campaign to ensure that people with mental health issues are actively involved in developing local services, so that they reflect the needs of those who use and will benefit from the services.
STUN members are encouraged to become actively involved in all aspects of service design, provision and delivery.
We hold regular meetings to discuss people's priorities and how best to take them forward. We also attend meetings that are organised by NHS Forth Valley, Stirling Council, Third Sector and other organisations also involved in the development of mental health services. We are also involved in the education of Social Work students at the University of Stirling (the Unity group).
STUN currently meets each Monday morning. Please contact STUN for details of what is involved and what to expect.
Peer Support (Peer Group Solutions)
STUN hosts Peer Group Solutions meetings which is a peer support group for people in Stirling with experience of mental health challenges.
Peer support is based on the idea that people with personal experience of mental health challenges are well-placed ('experts by experience') to support others with similar experiences.
Unfortunately current funding has ended for this group. We are evaluating the difference that the group has made with a view to learning from the experience prior to applying for funding to develop group peer support further.
StUN's Development Plan 2014-2017
StUN has been working with Outside the Box Development Support (www.otbds.org ) to develop our work and strategy for the next three years. This is exciting work and we would like as much input from people using mental health services in Stirling as possible. Get in touch with us if you would like to know more. Further information about this will be posted here, so come back regularly to find out what's happening.
Peace of Mind Garden
Located within Stirling's Kings Park, the Peace of Mind Garden has been established with the help of other organisations. The garden is maintained by volunteers and enjoyed by local residents and visitors.
Unfortunately, we are no longer working on the garden for funding reasons. Thank you for any volunteering work you have done on it in the past.
Further work of STUN:
- Contributed to the new Model of Care in acute mental health settings in Forth Valley;
- 'Seeing the Light' CD - a recovery focused CD with people's personal stories on what has helped them in their journey along with a piece of music that helped their recovery. To buy a copy, contact us;
- 'Everybody's Free to Feel Good' by Stuart Cochrane - a short book with inspirational quotes to aid recovery;
- 'Let's Work Together Action Plan' to improve service user and carer involvement in mental health services in Forth Valley;
- 'Getting There' project with Outside The Box and a number of key 3rd Sector organisations involved in mental health - looking at issues around Self Directed Support (project closes March 2015);
