The successful workshop was held in the Holy Trinity Community Centre in Middlesbrough over two days. Participants were drawn from a wide variety of stakeholder groups in Middlesbrough including service users, family members, the police, the local NHS Trust, the voluntary sector and the Strategic Health Authority.

The workshop covered topics such as mapping, policy priorities, relationship building and public action. By the end of the workshop the participants had created a model for a Mental Health Policy Action Group that could make a real impact on mental health in Middlesbrough and ensure that all community stakeholders have a real voice in the development of services, rights and awareness. In the coming months the Action Group will be leading a range of public action including lobbying, campaigning, media work and outreach work.

This was an exciting workshop for MHID as we have used the Participation and Policy model successfully in many countries around the world including India, Romania, Kyrgyz Republic and Bosnia. However, we have never before tested it in the UK where the mental health environment is significantly different to overseas. It was fascinating to work with Middlesbrough stakeholders as they adapted the experiences, tools and case studies from around the world to the UK context.

The next step of the programme is to present the ideas and model developed by the workshop to a wider Middlesbrough audience through an open forum which is scheduled for 9th June 2006.

MHID will be working with the stakeholders to link them to European and international networks to share their learning. In 2007 an international conference in India will bring together forums and action groups from around the world to celebrate grassroots leadership in mental health policy.