Have we been forgotten about?

@Bow @Captain24 @MatchaToad @Flutterbug9 unfortunately while i believe there are some lovely people and professionals overall in sanes teams, regarding the forums, my experience has not been amazing for me personally. Understand others have differences.

I did try escalate it, and was passed around from person to person, but I felt not one heard me, or respected me as a consumer. I felt small. I still would advise to put in complaints per sanes guidelines because every peer's voice matters.

As sane is a charity, i wold be escalating above that, but i feel also for the peer community, ethical peer work, and intentional peer work has certain values, which involves elevating consumer voices, not silencing them. A peer space isnt mentally unwell ppl vs the admin, it is ideally a collaboration. I disagree deeply with the way sane responds to consumers. I hope others have a much better experience than me and truly wish they get what they did, as peer spaces do hold beautifl value and sanes values are strong.

It is a joke. Basically if we aren’t happy then just leave. Thats how it felt. @Bow

@Captain24 i wouldn't say thats fair re if you want more join recovery club

There would be many other services besides recovery club, that would be valuable and worth exploring. Sane's recovery club is just one, and i'm sure its great, but some ppl may prefer the forums for, as sane itself advertises, 24/7 support or the ability to access on weekends or public holidays for example when ppl are vulnerable. the services are quite different. I do not know much about recovery club, does that offer 24/7 access?

Yeah @Captain24 there use to be a time where if you ever hinted at leaving the forums, like if you felt like it wasn’t for you anymore they would be like…. You’re a valued member of the community, we care about you and want you around, what can we do to support you through this. Now if you say maybe I’ll leave… it’s ok all the best. Like don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Hearing you @Bow @Captain24 💜

@Bow in that sense, the community spirit is missing.

People don't feel welcome, and if its a peer led space, it means that we as peers have to welcome and include ppl, which is hard for the few who are still here, while we struggle as well. Perhaps there is less budget but still, respectful and trauma-informed commnication wold dislocse that.

I sensed this for a long time, but thought I was imagining it, or thought there was something wrong with me, or blamed it on my personality issues.

That’s the thing eh @EternalFlower respectful and trauma informed communication. But there is none. Nothing.

things started changing a couple of years ago. The webchat disappeared. We were strung along for ages that it would be back. But it never did. Then the helpline went. And now support has gone altogether.

and I believe…. Pretty sure, that some forums share their moderators. So some moderators could be watching over multiple forums. More cost effective.

I actually wrote a post a while back and said stuff that wasn’t within guidelines and it wasn’t picked up and no one actually commented on it. I was in need of some help so I thought I’d just write it. Completely missed. I wander how much other stuff is getting through.

@EternalFlower @Bow

The essence of Recovery Club is it's timebound. So amenable to pitches for timebound funding.

The Forums community have some people interacting briefly over specific issues but many with ongoing mental health needs who need to be shoe-horned into a recovery model where recovery from an ongoing and often lifelong condition is defined not as reaching wellness but as acceptance and adjustment. Leaving us to bounce around and reverberate in our own space without intervention or compassionate interaction when things are tough looks a bit like segregation and isolation. It's very disappointing to see community engagement being de-emphasised in future NDIS plans and in previously accommodating spaces.

I'm deeply appreciative of the individuals on SANE staff who continue to reach out and make themselves accessible but they're becoming the exception. And I want to give a shout out to the wonderful volunteers, whose ranks have thinned considerably, increasing the load on those who remain. And there are many who help out without having any special job title or designation.

There,are still significant gaps that have been pointed out many times, such as timely and helpful responses to newbies whose loved ones are symptomatic.

What hurts most is having had a taste of how welcoming the space could be with active and involved PSWs. I trust we're not now sentenced to watching a viable model wither on the vine because ongoing participation is deemed not worthy, too expensive, or simply a holding space for those already disadvantaged abd stigmatised.

I've been told @RachSANECEO no longer engages on the forums. I wonder if any decisionmakers do.

@Captain24 have there been new guidelines? last i looked at them was when i was banned, and i thought the guidelines were just general recovery posting, being respectful to others, and not mentioning services by name, as well as backing up medical info with facts.