Oor Mad History is a community history project, led by people with their own personal lived experience of mental health. In the past we have used oral history to record and promote the history of activism and collective advocacy by people with mental health issues. We have also developed a short course in “Mad People’s History and Identity” at Queen Margaret University. The group is currently working on workshops to deliver in the community.

Working as a team, “Experiences of Trauma” collective advocacy project have developed a workshop around experiences of trauma and are looking for participants who are willing to share their experiences to promote understanding/awareness and campaign for improvements in services and attitudes towards people who may have experienced psychological trauma.

Collective advocacy creates a safe space for people to get together, support each other to explore shared issues and to find common ground. Being involved in this Collective Advocacy group involves using your experiences of being from a minority ethnic background and living with a mental health issue to campaign and influence the agendas and decisions that shape and affect your life.

This role involves using personal experience as a peer worker/volunteer to raise awareness/promote understanding about peer work. Previous discussions in the group have included pay and peer work, opportunities to progress in peer work, language in peer work and employer’s understanding of peer work.