October has been an amazingly hectic but brilliant month and has been all about connections – we’ve really been getting out and about connecting into community events …. and running a fair share of our own.

We supported World Mental Health Day at Worthing’s Mental Health Awareness sessions. The CAPITAL team took part and had a very colourful stand there.

AGM Meeting

This month we held CAPITAL’s Annual General Meeting on 12 October – our first in person AGM for a few years.

It was a chance to reflect on the challenges of the year up to April 2023, celebrate successes and look forward to the future. We are grateful to Liv Slania, our special guest presenter who inspired through her talk about hope, peer support and ‘Superheroics.’

We were also delighted to recommence our CAPITAL membership awards and this year featured a new award in recognition of our former Chair’s work and resilience, the Jacqui Cavalier Award.

This Award accompanied the Peter Brooks Award (recognising great peer support) and Andrea Linnell Award (recognising achievements enhancing CAPITAL’s name and reputation). The Awards were presented by Roy Davies, Chair of Trustees, Liv Slania, Guest Speaker, and John Cavalier.

Nominees for the three awards were: Tim Bird, Heidi Tilney, Carole Murray, Katja Anders, Jane Baxter, Liz Kirk, James Bradley, Lin Gibbs, the Monday Art and Craft Group, Helen Hayward, Jane Baxter, Lorraine Faulkner Hardy, Tabitha Thompson, Lin Gibbs, Catherine McGill and Elaine Ogunfoalu.

The Awards were presented to:

• CAROLE MURRAY – Andrea Linnell Award

• MONDAY ART AND CRAFT GROUP – Peter Brooks Award

• TIM BIRD – Jacqui Cavalier Award

Massive congratulations!

Fundraising

A relative of one of our members arranged a fund-raising gig in Brighton, with local punk groups and performers. We are grateful to Luciyan Daemon & Half Blind Promotions for raising funds for CAPITAL. Some of the CAPITAL team went along to support (and didn’t need earmuffs!)

This month we’ve been having conversations about working together and meeting with HMP Ford, Words Out Loud, and we supported Stonepillow at their big sleep out. Lisa, Sara and members spent the whole day and night building shelters and sleeping out for the night. We were also interviewed by BBC Radio Sussex station with Stonepillow's Fundraising manager.

CAPITAL local meetings are continuing in Crawley, East Grinstead, Worthing and Bognor Regis. At the Bognor meeting we welcomed Words Out Loud who inspired members to speak out and celebrate the spoken word. Please see the Diary of Events for future dates.

Coprodution Event

On 25 October at Field Place, Worthing we held our Coproduction Check In bringing together people with lived experience from our Lived Experience Advisory Group, organisations working in mental health, senior managers and commissioners.

The day was to mark our progress to date in our coproduction team’s work, and to improve and strengthen our partnerships for the future.

We’ll be sending more about the actions that came about from this at a later date. We are in the process of reviewing evaluation of the event, which is looking like extremely positive feedback, with 90% of people saying they found the event interesting and informative, 90% saying they learnt something new about coproduction in West Sussex and 85% feel more comfortable working in a coproduced way after attending.

If you want to join this network and attend the next Lived Experience Advisory Group meeting, please get in touch with

Sara: sara.shepherd@capitalproject.org

or Tasha: tasha.berefield@capitalproject.org

PVP and other events and updates

We ran a Patient Viewpoint refresher shared learning session this month. This was a chance to look at what Patient Viewpoint is all about for existing volunteers and for potential volunteers.

If you’d like to find out more and get involved with Patient Viewpoint which we run in West Sussex hospitals, please get in touch with one of our coordinators.

Following our very successful members day back in June, we’re looking to hold another day just for CAPITAL members, but we want you to tell us where you want us to hold it!

We’ve started A Different View sessions this month in Crawley (working with Recovery Partners.) The CAPITAL Connections Group on Thursdays (2-4pm) and Art & Craft Group (Mondays 1-4pm) are taking off and now peer led.

For more information about these groups that take place at our offices (32 Sudley Road, Bognor Regis) please email: Tabitha tabitha.thompson@capitalproject.org

We’ve got some new peers joining the hospital teams, and we are starting a trial offering extra peer workers to Oaklands Unit, Chichester.

Finally, we welcome our new Engagement Manager.

Janice Moth is delighted to have joined Capital Project Trust as an Engagement Manager; she has dedicated her life to improving the lives of people who experience mental health difficulties. Janice has 15 years’ experience working for NHS mental health services at Trust HQ in corporate/operational services and clinical teams.

She has worked internationally, for national and local charities, social services and is the Managing Director of a company set up to end loneliness caused by social isolation.

Alongside working Janice has studied quite a bit and is now member of the Institute of Leadership and recently completed a scholarship that she won from Harvard Business School. Janice enjoys volunteering, spending time with people eating, dancing, singing and travelling.

Members day

Following our successful members day in June 2023, we are now hoping to hold the next Membership Day in November 2023 and we want you to let us know the location for the event.

Please use the link/QR code to vote, thank you! https://forms.office.com/e/Xjxqa5Mj5A

If you prefer to vote by telephone please call the office on 01243 869662

Also if you would love to help support Capital by donating to us, here is an easy way to do so by clicking this link below: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/capitalpt/