What is ‘see me’
The 'see me' campaign was launched in October 2002 and aims to end the stigma and discrimination of mental ill-health in Scotland. The campaign is run by an alliance of five Scottish mental health organisations: Highland Users Group (HUG); National Schizophrenia Fellowship (Scotland); Penumbra; the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Scottish Division) and the Scottish Association for Mental Health.
Each alliance member organisation sends one named person along to be a member of ‘see me’s Management Group. This meets quarterly to set the strategic direction for the campaign, to agree plans and budgets, sign off new creative materials and projects and to receive reports on work and finances. In between meetings, Management Group members are in regular contact with the campaign by phone and email.
The campaign has 8 staff members who are based in the campaign’s offices in Leith. Campaign staff run the campaign day-to-day and meet regularly with local champions and campaign contacts across the whole of Scotland. Campaign staff also speak at conferences and meetings throughout the world, distribute materials, recruit and train media volunteers, encourage and support local campaign activities, run the websites, deal with press and public enquiries and develop new campaigning ideas.
The campaign is fully funded by the Scottish Government as part of its commitment to improving mental health and well-being. The campaign’s budgets and organisational plans are agreed by the Scottish Government and a representative of the Government also attends ‘see me’ Management Group meetings as an observer.
Vision and key aims of 'see me':
‘see me’ has one vision which drives all our work and four key aims:
Vision
- A Scotland in which all people with mental health problems are fully equal and included.
Aims
- To change public understanding, attitudes and behaviours so that the stigma and discrimination associated with mental ill-health is eliminated.
- To enhance the ability of people to challenge stigma and discrimination.
- To ensure that all organisations value and include people with mental health problems and those who support them.
- To improve media reporting of mental ill-health.
These aims have been agreed to take ‘see me’ through to the end of March 2011. Before that time we’ll start consulting on any revisions for inclusion in our next plan.
'see me' so far 2002-2006
The campaign was developed by talking and listening to people and organisations across Scotland including members of the public, health and social care professionals, local mental health groups and individuals with mental health problems. This helped us understand what people’s experiences of stigma were and how it affects their life. It also helped us to understand what people thought would be helpful in eliminating stigma and discrimination in Scotland.
We have worked very hard to form relationships with grassroots organisations across Scotland, building up contacts and supporting organisations to work with us. From the outset, the campaign has:
- Used a mix of approaches to reduce stigma and discrimination. This has included television, radio and outdoor advertising, working with newspapers and television stations, interactive online activity, and building local partnerships.
- Used a strong human and personal message, supported by the consistently applied strap line ‘see me… I’m a person not a label’.
- Supported people who have experienced stigma to become ‘media volunteers’. The ‘media volunteers’ have then bravely shared their real life experiences of stigma through newspapers, television, radio, DVD and presenting at local and national events.
- Tried to be direct, striking and involving, but without being shocking.
- Involved people in anti-stigma activities across Scotland at national and local levels and across all sectors and communities of interest.
- Alerted the public to the problem of stigma and sought to win support from across a broad spectrum of society.
Download the full report here - 'see me' so far.