Our Ambassador Network just had its first meeting. Here's what happened.
On 6th June, something important happened. Our new Ambassador Network gathered in person for the very first time, a room full of people who know first-hand what it means to grow up alongside parental mental illness.
Some came as children of parents with mental illness. Some as parents. Some as co-parents. Different stories, one shared understanding; how invisible this experience can feel, and how much it matters to change that.
The day was about connection, confidence, and figuring out what being an ambassador actually looks like. Facilitated by Our Time staff and a spoken word poet, this didn't feel like a meeting, it felt like a beginning.
Wellbeing and the value of giving.
The group explored the Wheel of Wellbeing, a framework built around six components of a flourishing life: being active, keeping learning, giving, connecting, taking notice, and caring for the planet. They chose to focus on giving.
Not giving in the transactional sense. Giving as in a smile, a moment of time, saying hello to someone who looks like they need it. The kind of giving that costs nothing but can mean everything.
They also talked honestly about limits. About how much you can give before your own cup empties. For a group who have often been the ones carrying the weight, this was an important conversation to have.
When it came to what they want to give through their ambassador role, the answers were clear; hope, visibility, a sense that others are not alone. Stories about parental mental illness, shared honestly, so that people going through it stop feeling like they are the only ones.
A collaborative poem, shaped in the room.
From that discussion, the group collaborated on a poem that speaks to stigma, connection and what becomes possible when people find their voice.
Is what we give, what we get?
Can we smile at people we’ve never met?
Does offering hope help us cope?
Lift us up from the downwards slope?
Making all our stories known
Can help us not feel so alone
If we see each other’s true reflections
That’s what helps us make connections
Stigma makes it seem like no one cares
But if we find our voice, our story’s shared
Our self- expression creates the change
No longer feeling so estranged
More empowered when we’re all together
Connectedness in any weather!
Whether hopeful, anxious or upset
Can we see the glowing sunset?
If our half-empty glass is also half-full
Then Our Time, our connection is wonderful!
Ambassadors on the mic.
The afternoon included practical sessions on public speaking, including how to set up a microphone and use it. Several ambassadors stepped up, shared their name, their reason for being there, and their goals. It was challenging, but they did it!
A communications session gave the group a grounding in how Our Time tells stories, hope-led, lived-experience-first, always with the ambassador's wellbeing protected. The kind of storytelling that creates real change without asking people to give more than they are ready to.
This was day one. Watch this space for what comes next.
If you would like to support children and young people who are living with parental mental illness, please consider making a donation.
Media enquiries should be directed to office@ourtimecharity.org.uk
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