UserQ / Lewes Mind Information

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I was involved for two years with a Lewes (Sussex, UK) based mental health charity called UserQ, which is linked into Lewes and Wealden Mind. My involvement with the mental health charity UserQ and Lewes Mind started when I was contacted by a good friend and told that UserQ were having problems with a web site design company (To remain nameless as I don't want to give them any free publicity!). I went along to a UserQ meeting in Lewes and met the UserQ people and offered my services writing a report (for free of course) on the quality of the work that had been done so far and the prices they had charged UserQ. The non-profit (yeah right!) company had charged UserQ / Lewes Mind a lot of money and created a very basic site with more errors and problems than anything else!

Thanks to my report (which only confirmed what I think everybody at UserQ / Lewes Mind was feeling) they went to a new design company who did a brand new site for UserQ that was much better than the first one. Once the design work was finished my involvement with Lewes Mind increased, as I then became the webmaster and editor of the UserQ interactive Mental Health site for a while.

The UserQ project has now ended, so the site is unfortunately no longer running, but to give you an idea what it was like this was the description: "Visit the UserQ website - UserQ News - The online interactive Mental Health magazine, created by service users, for service users for accessible news and views site especially for mental health service users, it is also for carers, mental health professionals, in fact we want the UserQ news site to be useful for anybody with an interest in mental health issues."

After two years of working with UserQ and Lewes and Wealden Mind I finally decided to cut down on my work for them concentrate on other projects. I will miss some of the people there, but I won't miss the 60 mile return trip across East Sussex to the UserQ / Lewes Mind offices I had to do at least once a week.

Description of UserQ

UserQ is an established service user-led quality monitoring and evaluation project with a wealth of experience in delivering consultation events and developing innovative tools to involve service users in monitoring the quality of their mental health services from the service user perspective.

The UserQ project aims to increase mental health service user involvement in all aspects of monitoring and evaluating the quality of mental health services. The project is also involved in a range of other initiatives, including developing the countys mental health training strategy and reporting on users views on the care programme approach.

The project is in association with Lewes and Wealden Mind

Lewes Mind contact details:

Lewes and Wealden Mind
Highlight House
St Leonards Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 3UH

Tel: 01323 648836
Fax: 01323 727796
email: mind@47westernroad.co.uk

Other local Mind associations in Sussex.

Chichester and Bognor Area AMH
First Floor
The Old Bakery
Bakery Lane
Bognor Regis
West Sussex
PO21 1UR
tel: 01243 842336

Crawley and Horsham Mind
Alphacom House
8a Oakhill Road
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5SB
tel: 01403 750166 / 211593
email: info@candhmind.org.uk

Eastbourne and District Mind Association
8 Saffrons Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 1DG
tel: 01323 645320

Hastings and Rother Mind
6 Trinity Street
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 1HG
Tel: 01424 442435
email: activ8network@hotmail.co.uk

Mind in Brighton and Hove
79 Buckingham Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 3RJ
tel: 01273 749600
web: www.mindcharity.co.uk

Worthing and Littlehampton Mind
Mind Day Centre
8-10 Durrington Lane
Worthing
West Sussex
BN13 2QB
tel: 01903 693047
web: www.worthingmind.co.uk