UPDATE: SANE SERVICES

What is meant by 'auto-moderated' @Jynx That says to me that some posts are therefore not even seen by mods and therein lies more issues ...safety, connection, the dismal triage system, people not being responded to nor seen....

I do not mean any disrespect by this but saying - "Appreciate that change is scary, that you are potentially even feeling some grief over it" - is being presumptuous. @Bow @Captain24, myself and others here are querying the presence of staff (mods/PSWs/etc) across the forums and if the proposed changes will mean a decline in their presence. I, also, have had posts not responded to and it makes one feel unseen and unheard.

Yeah my post.. my question wasn’t even answered though @Jynx i appreciate that it takes time for moderators to be trained and as you said ‘get to the point where they fly through everything lickety split’, but there is a very big difference in regards to presence, interactions, support and connection between moderators and peer support workers.

there has been hardly anyone around in recent weeks. The forums no longer feel like a safe place.

who's grand plan was this?

Hey @Bow @Zoe7 I really appreciate you both being able to provide this feedback of how these changes have felt for you and other members of the community. Of course any change is going to be difficult, but I think it's so important to be aware of how you guys are impacted. With rosters and training of new staff being an ongoing process, being able to hear what is and is not working for the community is valuable and valid information

It's hard for us to have answers while the rosters are still being worked out and staff are still being trained, though I wish I did have some for you right now. I think feedback like this might even shape some of the answers, so again, please continue to share as you're able.

Wanted to share a few thoughts on how things have been on the forums. I'm aware that things are still in the process of changing but I have a few concerns myself about the interim.

There's no doubt that the lack of presence of the PSW's is having an impact on the community and its actually heartbreaking to both see and feel it. I understand this space is designed to be peer-to-peer support which is fine but not everyone here has the capacity to both manage their own mental health struggles aswell as being able to support others thus i feel it's leaving it to those few regulars that are able to, to support as many people as they can even while they are struggling themselves.

I myself have had no interaction with a PSW for some time now and whilst I understand why, it doesn't change how much it hurts and how it makes one feel, unseen, unheard and insignificant. I know it's not the intentions of SANE but it really does feel like the forums and the wonderful community here are very much being neglected at the moment during this process of change.

Please know that i don't mean any disrespect by this post, I'm just sharing things from my own perspective. If anything needs to be changed or removed please let me know, I don't want to get in trouble for this post.

Thank you @MissGremlin I really appreciate you taking the time share this 💜

Well said @MissGremlin 👏🏻

I feel really bad and guilty and that I do not have a right to … complain and provide any feedback because this is a service that I’m not paying to use. I often feel like it’s simple a matter of like it or leave.

but when it has been something that I and many others have heavily relied on, I feel I need to provide this feedback.

im finding now and a lot of times in the past that sane has not always been transparent about things, about changes. They just kinda get thrown at us and we just have to deal with them. For instance the closer of the helpline. It just disappeared with zero consultation.

I understand sane received grants last year I think? I can’t really remember what they were for? but perhaps for all the other services? Recovery program and group? Was there any funding for the forums? Cause I wonder what happens is sane gets funding for programs and then other services suffer as a result

I think some transparency moving forward would be really helpful. I think a question that a lot are wanting answers to is will the forums be primarily moderated by moderators and not psw?

Thankyou @Bow.

There's so much i want to say in response to what you've said here but i do need to pause and take my time to focus rather than just saying what first comes to my mind. I agree with alot of what you have said and I will reply soon.

This service and the community is still amazing but yes there needs to be transparency moving forward.

Hi @Bow

We appreciate you taking time to share your experience. We want to reassure you that you absolutely do have the right to offer feedback regardless of whether the service is paid or not. The forums exist because people like you rely on them, and your perspective is important.

We hear your concerns particularly regarding service changes happen which can be unsettling when this space is such a key source of support.

SANE forums remain a valued and important part of SANE’s work.

Thank you again for raising this so thoughtfully. If you’d like your feedback to be formally reviewed, you’re welcome to share it via our Feedback and Complaints process, and we can help with that if needed. Here is the link https://www.sane.org/about-us/policies/feedback-and-complaints-policy.

Please know that your voice is supported and welcome on SANE forums.

Take care,
AltZing-Connect

I'm glad people are voicing their concerns here & via feedback; I think that is healthy and important. One thing I remember from my business management studies was how it is such a small percentage of people who will give feedback - the "tip of the iceberg". Most people who have a dissatisfactory experience will just walk away without saying anything, and then there is no chance for the organisation to understand why or what needs to be changed.

I have also been pondering over the weeks the 'role' of the forums and the staff. I know the mods help review posts & help provide safety-checks (especially overnight). But the role of the PSW I feel increasingly less sure about and I know I mentioned this on the "would SANE consider" thread 😊 so i won't repeat myself.

So I've found myself going back to the "welcome" post pinned to the forum for new members. But I realise that isn't very much an IT "how to use", not a "What is this forum?" thread. I find myself wondering if it is meant to be a "people with poor MH supporting others with poor MH", or whether its meant to be a "peer support workers are here to support you with your MH, and you can meet others with MH challenges too which you can form connection with and they may also be able to support your in addition to PSW when you are having difficult times". I think @MissGremlin put it really well about how hard it can be to support other friends here when you're having your own difficult time, but at the same time not wanting to "let them down" by not being able to support them because of the reduced capacity-per-active-user of PSW. I've had to put myself first and not check forums when I need time for myself if I am not doing well, but it breaks my heart to see that sometimes during those times my friends have had a really acute moment and needed support but no one (or very few people) have been able to be there at that time. And that's where I really see the benefit of the rostered staff - to help support people when no one else is around to support them, or their needs are too great for other users to support them.

I find myself questioning "what is 'complex' mental health?" With complex being the key word there. Because by nature complex MH is often something people need a lot of insight or training to support, I would have thought. I can help support people with things that I have experienced, or things I have read about. But it can be more traumatic for people to have to explain things to me where i don't already know intuitively (not my experience area) -- even though I really want to help support them and I see that others have not yet been available to.

I wonder how much of this situation has been caused by poor change management. Especially in the case of staggering phases - especially with staff training and onboarding. If I were managing it, I would have proposed that staff do it sequentially (not concurrently) to reduce the impact of staff absence on the forums. And likewise with onboarding of new PSW and Mods - train them up before the old ones leave (where possible), and do a continual gradual onboarding of new people spread out over time -- perhaps a maximum of 1 staff member per shift being "new" (and thus understandably slower or less experienced in supporting) so that they can receive the help from other experienced staff without it also impacting the ability of the experienced staff to still be able to provided their usual support still too.

From what I have read, so much sounds to have been a poor implementation of changes (especially staffing and training) in a "big bang" approach rather than a gradual phasing approach.

I do strongly believe all the staff are well-intent and doing their best. And I am so grateful for that. And I hold no negativity at all to the staff. But I do hope that change-management lessons can be learnt from how much distress and impact this is causing members currently.

hugs to all my friends and other members currently struggling with things.

@MissGremlin @Bow @Flutterbug9 @Cuddlebear @Captain24 @Shaz51 and many more of you. Know that I care, regardless of whether or not I have capacity/availability to help support at the specific time.

@AlwaysMyself I totally agree with what you’ve said.