Ways to Be
Involved

Challenge Stigma

The HUG Communications Project was set up to challenge the stigma surrounding mental illness. There are 4 main areas of work you could get involved in:

Young People - raising awareness of mental health issues with young people (15-18 years) in schools and youth groups.

Media Work - getting mental health stories into the press and radio.

Mental Health Awareness Training - helping professionals and the public understand what it is like living with a mental health problem.

Publicity and Promotional Work - contributing to the HUG newsletter and our arts and poetry magazine, 'Moonstruck'.

To Be Our Local Representative

HUG's credibility relies on knowing what is happening at in the local communities across the Highland. We are always looking for people who might:

•  Keep an ear out for current issues in their area.
•  Agree to be a local contact in the drop-in centre.
•  Agree to meet new members in their area so that they can  get used to HUG in a comfortable way.
•  Be willing to raise issues of local concern by way of  meetings or writing letters.
•  Be able to let local people know what we are doing at a  Highland level.

To Be A Representative on Committees and Meetings

We have a place on a number of committees e.g. Service Development Groups at New Craigs, and have frequent requests to attend meetings. You may be able to represent HUG at these committees if you feel relatively comfortable about what our policy may be.

If you were willing to go on a committee we would usually ask you to 'shadow' a current HUG member or worker to start with to help you gain a feeling for the issues and the group. Normally we would always try to have at least two HUG members on any group.

To Lead a Special Interest Group

In HUG we are developing informal special interest groups such as housing, benefits or the justice system. You may wish to join one or set up a new one and become one of our key contacts when relevant issues arise.

To Decide on Policy

When we are creating a report or paper which will give a HUG policy or view on a particular subject we will send it out to for comment.

Become a Round Table Member

To attend the Round Table meeting once every two months in Inverness. This meeting is in two parts:

In the morning we discuss internal issues such as meetings we have been to, progress of the Communications Project, becoming constituted and polices we want to agree.

In the afternoon we meet with officials from the Health Board and Social Work to raise any current issues of concern or to discuss our latest report.

• Membership