Feature: A Week in the Life of a Community Mental Health Development Lead

The following feature was written by Matt Merriam, one of our Community Mental Health Development Leads in the Exeter, East & Mid Devon region.

Recently, I was able to celebrate finishing my first year working with the Devon Mental Health Alliance as Community Mental Health Development Lead in Eastern Devon. As this milestone has approached, I’ve been thinking about the impact each of us are having in communities across Devon and the wider system of mental health provision.

We are strengthening dozens of VCSE (voluntary, community and social enterprise sector) organisations, supporting thousands of people through grants, training, connections to others, and creating opportunities to be heard and explore innovative ideas with others.

We are catalysing transformative change through our work with Multi-Agency Team meetings in each of the 31 Primary Care Networks across Devon and by leading Mental Health Partnership Groups in our localities. We are also establishing new networks, enabling staff on the edge of burnout to access support with their mental health and wellbeing, and driving new projects of collaborative innovation to see more people supported better.

Most of this happens in meetings, which can sometimes feel like days of countless hours talking to people through our computer screens. But it matters, and it is making a big difference.

No longer being "new" to this role, I have also been reflecting on what an average week looks like for me now. Recent weeks have been busy, but also really encouraging with the progress and change I have seen. I realise not everyone probably knows what we do in our role, so I thought I would share with you a recent week of work, to give you a flavour.

Day 1

It started with chairing our Eastern Locality Mental Health Partnership Group, a diverse gathering of mental health providers (VCSE, NHS and lived experience) that meet to explore how we can continue to improve services. In this meeting, we heard an incredible presentation about the needs of young people from Parental Minds and Young Devon. This learning will help lay the foundation as we explore together innovative ideas to see them supported better.

After this, I had a line management session at CoLab — one of the six founding members of the Devon Mental Health Alliance, and where I am based. It is an incredible space of collaboration, innovation, impact and compassion; I have never worked anywhere quite like it and I feel privileged every day I walk through the doors. We also met with leaders from all the different organisations based at CoLab to talk about how we can continue to improve our partnerships.

Matt is based at CoLab, a multi-agency wellbeing hub in Exeter.

The afternoon finished with a couple of meetings. The first was with someone from Mental Health Matters about a new “post-discharge” support service they’ll be providing from the new home of The Moorings @ Wonford House. The second meeting was with representatives from the local Home Treatment Teams, Primary Care Network and Community Mental Health Teams to talk about how we interface and communicate with one another better.

Day 2

After a day completely in the office, it was great to have a day completely out! I had helped to organise an event at a community centre in Exeter to create space for residents and visitors to express their thoughts, feelings and stories about the area. We had incredible food donated by Ukrainian, Chinese and Polish groups, as well as activities run by Together, Exeter Community Initiatives and the Urban Learning Academy.

My contribution to the day was running a “story sofa” — a literal sofa in the garden outside the centre to allow people to share their stories. I heard from local staff, volunteers and individuals who had been sleeping rough for up to 20 years. It is always a privilege to hear people’s stories, in whatever form they come, so these moments always feel quite sacred.

Day 3

The morning was back to meetings. Firstly, an exciting conversation about the next Mental Health Hub’s “Courageous Conversation”. Our intention is to create another meaningful space in which we can explore the often unspoken questions about mental health provision for children and young people, and those who support them. It is so important we create spaces where different perspectives can be shared, questions can be safely asked, and problems can be worked through. Without this shared perspective, we can never get to a place where we are truly working together.

My afternoon was then spent in the funky setting of the South West Academic Health Science Network, where I met with the other members of the Eastern Locality Care Partnership. The aim of the afternoon was to reflect on progress so far and explore what our priorities moving forward could be. It was an incredible few hours exploring how we can push to be more collaborative and innovative, really working hard to set aside our own organisational biases and be aligned together.

Day 4

Day 4 began with catching up with one of my Community Mental Health Development Lead counterparts, exploring what they have been working on and helpingto strategically guide the areas of focus and priority. Even though we each live out our roles differently, all the other leads are incredible at their work and making such significant impacts in their areas.

I was then visited in CoLab by the Complex Emotional Needs (CEN) pathway team for the Devon Partnership NHS Trust here in East Devon. We have been working together to develop pathways, especially the CEN forum they are creating. Our monthly meetings are always a meaningful hour of sharing learning, asking important questions, and working well together.

My day finished with a trip to Tiverton for our sixth co-design session, on which we have been leading. After running one of our Creative Solutions events in Tiverton last September, it was agreed by those involved that Tiverton needed a safe space for people experiencing a mental health crisis. Since that day, we have been helping over ten organisations create a pilot project to provide such a space in different locations and times across the town. Anything involving multiple agencies carries a range of complexities, but it is also a great privilege to be a part of such needed innovation.

Matt and his colleagues have run engagement events across Devon, including in Tiverton.

Day 5

The last day of this window into an average working week involved running a Creative Solutions event in Exmouth. We gathered VCSE and statutory organisations involved in providing mental health support — the aim is to create a space in which we can explore together what is happening in Exmouth that is going really well, who is struggling to find the support that they need, and what we could do differently to make things better.

We had some incredible conversations about improving access to support for people struggling with both mental health and addictions, and about working towards Exmouth being a neurodivergent-friendly town. Both will mean a few more plates start spinning, but it’s worth it to see the communities in which so many people live become safer and better resourced.

Immediately after this, I had a meeting with someone who had attended the event, and as we were in Exmouth we decided to have it by the sea! Not a bad place to have a meeting. Once the meeting had finished, I took the time to walk down the beach, take some deep breaths, and reflect on just what a privilege it is to be working with all these communities, organisations and people — and to be a part of seeing mental health provision improved for those who need it most.