Date of the next Countywide Forum meeting is Monday 6th March at 1.30pm

The County Wide Forum, or CWF, is a group of Service Users and Carers based in County Durham and Darlington. The brief of the group is to improve and promote Mental Health in County Durham and Darlington. 

At the moment the group doesn't have many active members, although there is a mailing list so people could access the minutes and agendas for the CWF. We are hoping for more people to attend meetings of the group. People who have an interest or experience of Mental Health in County Durham and Darlington. Training in some meeting skills could be organised when the courses are available. For example Tees, Esk and Wear Valley Foundation Trust run a Leadership Course. Most of the active group members have been on the Leadership Course. 

The CWF doesn't take on individual cases, although the members have knowledge of places to find help and/or advice. Durham County Council host a website called "Locate" which has been useful. 

The group will look at general issues in County Durham and Darlington facing service users and carers. We have flagged up issues such as Stigma and Discrimination in County Durham. There is a very active anti-stigma group now. The anti-stigma group is supported by Durham County Council.

Many people acknowledge that the Coronavirus has affected people's mental health and NHS services. The CWF would be interested to hear about experiences during the last year, as well as experiences during previous years.

Meetings of the Countywide Forum in 2023 listed below. All meetings are on Mondays and start at 1.30pm unless stated.

2nd October - AGM
6th November
4th December

Contact psmith@waddingtoncentre.co.uk or phone 01913860702 for more details.

Update from the Chair 16th December 2021

Planning for the alliance group has started. There was a meeting at Waddington Street church (next door to the Waddington Street Centre) on November 30th. The meeting was the first in a series to introduce people to Co-production. Hopefully there will be meetings in other areas of Co Durham on the same subject. 

Briefly, one of the discussion questions was about what is needed for people to become involved in a meaningful way. People felt communication was important, and having an equal voice (see the attached flyer for more detail from the meeting). 

The CWF meeting went ahead on December 6th. We were brought up to date on the Alliance plans. 

Merry Christmas, especially to those who need some Christmas cheer.

Keith