Join the Living Histories Project!

Heads On have launched Living Histories, an oral history project capturing the whole life stories of service users and staff with experience of NHS mental health services in Sussex NHS Mental Health staff and service users in Sussex. This project covers experiences from the closure of old asylums up to and including the Covid pandemic.
Living Histories is made possible by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage fund, supported by NHS Charities Together, Heads On, and Sussex Partnership.
Living Histories will capture the rich history of changing NHS mental healthcare over the last 40 years, examining the shift from institutionalisation to community care and finally the radical transformation that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. By capturing and sharing personal stories the project team will build an important archive to inform the future of NHS mental healthcare.
We will recruit and train 15 volunteers in oral history and mental health awareness, conducting 35 interviews with staff and service users, digitising and archiving all materials, creating exhibitions, sharing content online, and collaborating with The Keep archive in Brighton for permanent archiving. The project which started in July, runs until July 2025.
To volunteer to collect stories, or if you are interested in sharing your story, contact Nicola Benge, Project Manager, at LivingHistories@spft.nhs.uk or 0300 373 6173. For more information, visit Heads On Charity.
Join us in preserving the rich history of mental health experiences in Sussex!
Whether you make a donation, attend an event or fundraise for us, every penny will help make life better for people with mental health problems.