Jo Barber reports on our involvement in the University of Birmingham celebration of their 125 years:
In June 2025, there was an open day, for showcasing University of Birmingham community engagement as part of their 125th year anniversary celebrations.
This took place outside in the grounds of the university and Suresearch had a stall to display and advertise what we do.
Our stall attracted a great deal of interest. The subject of mental health is very topical, we had many just stopping to read our mindfulness cards or pick up one of our flyers. Other people wanted to go further, reading testimonies from people in the group about what Suresearch means to them, both now and in the past. Some poetry and write up of research projects that we have been involved with were also popular.
There was always at least 3 or 4 of us manning the stall all day, and we had many meaningful conversations with interested folks during the course of the day. Many people wanted to know more and gave their email addresses so that we could send them further details. We have gained a couple of new members as a consequence.
During the day, all the 50 flyers we had brought along had been given out to people and we ended up having to write our contact details on bits of paper. We were able to explain to people the importance of people who have used services to be involved in mental health research and training. We were also able to explain the supportive nature of the group and the benefit of this to us as members. For us, it was a team building exercise, and we got to know each other better. Altogether, a worthwhile venture and a good time was had by all.