Permission to Dream
Permission to Dream was a mental health peer support project in Falkirk Council district. We worked with small groups of people to enable them to support each other to make their lives better. The project was funded by Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership until April 2022. This is an archived project.
What we're doing
We set up and supported peer support groups for people experiencing poor mental health, meeting in cafes and community spaces, as well as online.
The main aim of all the groups was to encourage people to help each other improve their wellbeing. By bringing people with shared experience together in a safe space, the groups helped to reduce social isolation and loneliness. People were supported to build or increase their social support networks and find a community they feel a sense of belonging to.
We chatted, tried new activities, learned new skills and shared the ones we already have.
The impact it's having so far
Permission to Dream ran in Falkirk from 2018, initially funded by the Self Management grant from The Alliance.
Up to the end of 2020 we had set up 6 weekly groups. At times we had to run the groups online or set up socially distanced meet ups. People attending the groups told us that they were really helping them feel better and happier:
“Thank you for today, I really enjoyed the experience, meeting new people & trying out new stuff! Looking forward to next week’s challenge!”
“I would never have had the confidence to do this if it was not for the support I feel from the group, so thank you”
“It really helps to have someone to meet with, though it can be an effort to come out and do stuff, but it keeps me going.”
“This group is like a gift from the universe. It’s quiet, nice, you can be relaxed. No one is pretending anything and there is no competition.”
It was then decided that the time had come for the project to be incorporated into a separate charity. After all the research, and from talking to people across the Falkirk District, it was clear that what was needed was a charity whose sole purpose was focussed on peer support and the development of these specific types of groups. Central Wellbeing was then formed.
Find out more about Central Wellbeing Falkirk on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CentralWellbeingFalkirk.