NHS Charity Heads On launches ‘Living Histories’ mental health oral history project
18 July 2024
Heads On, the official charity for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, is announcing the launch of Living Histories - an oral history project capturing the life stories of service users and staff with experience of NHS mental health services in Sussex. The charity is seeking volunteers to be trained as oral historians to collect stories across the county.
Living Histories is made possible by a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, supported by NHS Charities Together, Heads On and Sussex Partnership.
Launching in July 2024, Living Histories will capture and preserve the whole life stories of NHS Mental Health staff and service users in Sussex, from the closure of the old asylums in the 1980s, up to and including the Covid-19 pandemic.
The project will examine the changing role that NHS mental health services have played in people's lives, amplifying the voices of people with severe mental illness whose stories often remain hidden.
Living Histories will examine the shift from institutionalisation to community care and finally the transformation that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. By capturing and sharing personal stories the project team will build an important archive to inform the future of NHS mental healthcare.
Heads On will recruit and train volunteers to collect 35 oral histories from NHS mental health service users and staff across Sussex, creating a comprehensive archival and educational resource.
The project will culminate in live and online exhibitions, a podcast and a permanent archive at The Keep, part of the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex.
Rachael Duke, Charity Director at Heads On, said: "Heads On is wholeheartedly committed to challenging mental health stigma through Living Histories, amplifying the voices of people who use and work in NHS services so that people's mental health stories can be placed in the context of their whole lives, because we are all more than our hardest times.
"Volunteers are crucial to the successful delivery of this project. We're really excited to work with people in our community who are committed to commemorating and sharing the stories of people who have lived experience of mental health services. We hope volunteers will really benefit from the oral history training and support they will receive in return, and the opportunity to be part of this important project.
"We are hugely grateful to our funders The National Lottery Heritage Fund and NHS Charities Together for making Living Histories happen."
Volunteers are asked to register their interest in the project by registering here: https://
Volunteers will be trained as Oral Historians by the Oral History Society, alongside mental health awareness training.
We are particularly keen to hear from volunteers with experience of mental health problems, either themselves or as a carer.