Luciana drew on her own experiences as a volunteer, including her time at Norwood Ravenswood, relating how it had a lasting impact on her life and how seeing the improved state of the clients she was working with helped reaffirm her own confidence and sense of fulfilment.
With mental health a hot topic in Parliament at the moment, she also praised JVN’s Supported Volunteering Programme, whereby volunteer mentors help to facilitate volunteering one-to-one with people with learning disabilities and mental health challenges. The programme helps them to integrate into society and take a crucial step towards future employment. Luciana also mentioned her work in Westminster on the Health and Social Care Select Committee and urged the audience to raise the issue with their MP to encourage the enhancement of social services and make sure that vulnerable people receive the assistance they require. Only ⅓ of people with mental health issue
s, she said, will freely admit to them and seek help. Luciana also noted the link between poor mental health and poverty, especially among young people, stating that we are “on a journey” to improve the situation but there is still a long way to go.
The talk was followed by a Q&A with the audience chaired by Elissa Bayer, Senior Investment Director at Investec. Asked what was legislation is put forward to improve matters, Luciana replied that a green paper put forward aims to reduce children’s experiences with mental ill health by 70% by 2030. However, she also noted that we “don’t need legislation to make a change.” Another question focussed on the trend for learning disabilities to lead to mental health challenges. Luciana replied that we should encourage the government to reduce the threshold to enable more people to access support and services. Other questions addressed a seeming lack of joined-up thinking in this area and how schools, youth organisations and hospitals could collaborate and share information.
JVN Director Leonie Lewis MBE concluded with a short presentation on the Supported Volunteering Programme that JVN delivers, stressing how it was playing a unique role in the sector by providing potentially life-changing experience for all who want to make a difference. She highlighted the value of mentor support as a key aspect for many of those who go through the programme.
For more information about JVN’s Supported Volunteering Programme, please contact the Coordinator Doreen Morris at doreenm@jvn.org.uk.
