This World Mental Health Day, Saturday 10th October 2026, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is highlighting how people with lived experience are helping to shape local mental health services, as part of this year’s theme “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change”.
The theme highlights the importance of using lived experience to co-design services and drive person-centred care.
Working with people who know
Earlier this year, the Trust launched its ‘SHARE Co-production principles’, demonstrating its commitment to working alongside people with lived experience, carers, communities and partners.
Lived experience also plays a direct role in the support provided to people using the Trust’s mental health services.
Peer support workers use their own experiences of mental health challenges and recovery to support others and provide hope, reassurance and emotional and practical support.
Seeing the person, not the diagnosis
Jacqui Towle (pictured)is a Peer Support Worker in the Community Mental Health Team on the Isle of Wight for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
She said,
“Being a peer support worker is such a rewarding role because I recognise that it is a privilege to walk alongside people on their recovery journey.
“Having lived experience of mental health challenges allows me to bring understanding, empathy, and hope to the people I support.
“I know first-hand the difference it can make when someone believes in you, especially during times when hope feels difficult to find.”
By having this first-hand experience, staff can model recovery and instil hope to service users and carers, drawing on their own experiences to educate and help individuals find the right pathway on their recovery journey.
Rediscovering hope
Jacqui added,
“Peer support is about seeing the person, not the diagnosis. It is about recognising individual strengths, listening without judgement, and empowering people to believe that recovery is possible.
“I understand that living with mental health challenges can be difficult, and that meaningful progress often comes through small, achievable steps rather than big changes. Patience, compassion and celebrating those small victories are all important parts of the recovery process.
“The most rewarding part of my role is seeing people begin to rediscover hope, build confidence and develop a renewed sense of purpose and direction for the future.
“Being able to support someone as they realise their own potential and move towards the life they want to live is incredibly inspiring and reminds me every day why peer support is so valuable.”
For anyone struggling with their mental health, the Trust’s ‘Help in a Crisis’ page signposts to access to key services nationally and locally across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
News shared by Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust. Ed
