Gill Harrison is dedicated to supporting mental health in Somerset communities. As part of the Spark Somerset Open Mental Health community engagement team, she works to bridge the gap between mental health services and the public, ensuring that everyone gets the care and support they need.
Gill says she was always passionate about positively impacting people’s lives and addressing inequalities. “Joining the OMH Community Engagement Team was an exciting step for me. I believe in the power of community and its collective strength to bring about change. The opportunity to connect with diverse groups and individuals and work collaboratively to learn about barriers to accessing mental health services aligns perfectly with my values and belief in equity.”
The community engagement team has deep roots in the local area, offering people support and the opportunity to make their voices heard. This approach helps the team understand existing connections and identify gaps.
Gill says, “Contributing to the wellbeing of others through community engagement is a source of inspiration that applies in all roles in both my professional life and as a founder and manager of a volunteer-led project.”
The team’s combination of mental health support and community advocacy breaks down barriers that would otherwise make help inaccessible to some people in Somerset. Gill recognises that in today’s world, people face many challenges that affect their mental health: “The increasingly fast pace of life, the cost of living crisis, fears around climate change, international wars, and the impact of social media contribute to rising levels of anxiety and depression. Limited access to mental health resources, particularly in underserved communities, exacerbates these challenges. Additionally, the perceived stigma surrounding mental health often hinders individuals from some communities in seeking help.”
Gill took a leading role in organising OMH community walkabouts and noted that they “revealed the lack of awareness of Somerset’s unique OMH offer. This applies across the statutory and VCSFE sectors and to the public. Community engagement must raise and foster awareness.”
Gill says building trust and rapport with community members is fundamental to effective engagement. “It begins with developing awareness of cultural perspectives, beliefs and expectations, to be sensitive. Making sure that conversations occur in safe, non-judgmental and familiar environments creates a space where active listening, respect and empathy can take place. Transparency about the goals and intentions of the community engagement initiatives is key. Establishing credibility through consistent and reliable communication and demonstrating a genuine commitment to understanding diverse perspectives is also vital to fostering trust.”
The work of the community engagement team enables collaboration among organisations, forging partnerships to ensure a holistic approach to mental health while helping to establish a common direction and make informed decisions.
Gill reflects on just one of the many ways her work has made an impact: “I facilitated a Five Ways to Wellbeing workshop course with an ethnically diverse group of women from an ESOL (English as a Second Language) group. My co-facilitator was from an ethnically diverse group, and we had six nationalities represented in a group of seven people. Before the course, we gained as much information as possible about cultural sensitivities around mental health. We adapted the language on the PowerPoint slides and our verbal communication accordingly.”
By connecting with people thoughtfully and responsively, the community engagement team creates an environment where seeking help is seen as a strength, not a weakness.
Gill says, “As the workshops progressed, the women felt safe to explore issues around mental health and their wellbeing. The feedback we received demonstrated a new awareness of the importance of self-care in managing wellbeing, strategies they learned to overcome anxiety, and the support offered through the OMH alliance.
The extended benefit of workshops can build on their immediate value. The friendships formed and knowledge imparted ripple out and become self-sustaining. Gill recalls that “the women went on to form a peer group that would meet weekly to support each other. The engagement crossed nationalities and cultural perceptions of mental health, and the shared experiences on this course developed trust and friendship among women feeling isolated. The engagement offered sustainability so that its impact was long-lasting both for the individual and the community.”
Outside of her OMH work, Gill founded and now leads the Christmas Sparkle project, a community-led initiative delivering Christmas gifts to over 2000 local children annually. She is also a member of the board at her local community centre.
Open Mental Health works to ensure that people living with mental health problems in Somerset get the right support at the right time. We help people live full lives by enabling access to specialist mental health services, housing support, debt and employment advice, volunteering opportunities, peer support, community activities, and physical exercise. To discover more about the OMH alliance of mental health organisations, check out Our Approach.