Women's Conversation Day co hosted by DMHA and Wellbeing in Action
On Tuesday 9th June, Devon Mental Health Alliance (DMHA) and Wellbeing in Action (WiA) hosted a Women's Conversation Day in Newton Abbot. The event was a direct response to issues within the community that local women wanted the opportunity to discuss openly and safely.
Local voices were joined and heard by the Teignbridge Community Mental Health Teams including Devon Partnership Trust (DPT), Teignbridge Housing, FND FrieNDs, Phoenix Rising CIC, and DMHA Recovery Practitioners (RP), creating a rich mix of lived experience, professional insight, and community support.
DMHA’s Community Development Lead for Torbay and South Devon, Bernadette McAuley, painted a bright picture of the event describing the day as ”vibrant, honest, and full of connection.” Women shared experiences of the challenges affecting their health and wellbeing, including mental health, chronic pain, housing difficulties, isolation, and the many pressures that can impact daily life. Bernadette continued; “Throughout the discussions, it became clear how often these issues overlap and influence one another, creating complex experiences that cannot be addressed in isolation.”
The event highlighted the power of bringing people together in safe, trusted community spaces. By connecting statutory services, voluntary organisations, and local communities, we can create opportunities for earlier support, stronger relationships, and more joined-up responses to the challenges people face.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, contributed, and supported the day. The conversations reinforced the importance of listening to women's voices and working collaboratively to develop services and support that reflect real-life experiences.
Community spaces such as the Good Karma Store are essential to building healthy, supportive communities of practice. They continue to demonstrate the value of accessible, welcoming environments where meaningful conversations, connections, and mutual support can flourish.
“It was really useful to be able to have the opportunity to meet with other professionals to understand the work that you are all doing and to meet face to face with those people who attended the event to understand their situation, concerns and barriers. I hope that the advice that I gave to several people was helpful.” - Tracey, Teignbridge Housing.
One of the key outcomes from the day was a shared commitment to continue these conversations, with a more focused follow-up discussion planned to explore the themes raised and identify practical ways forward. The DMHA would like to thank everyone who participated and supported this event, together each person contributed to it’s success. We look forward to more events like this in the future.
