Developing Communities of Support

This research project follows on from a first stage project led by The Junction based at the Holywell Trust in Derry and Funded by the Ideas Fund. It draws on the community of support and co-intentional learning processes which led to the development of the ‘Changing the Story I Tell Myself’ Resource (thematic workshops and a short film) during stage one. The second phase of this project is about developing an informed understanding of what exists by way of ‘a community of support’ within the wider community and exploring with a cross-section of these around how best the resources might strengthen existing community capacity, further deepening and enabling ‘intentional communities of support for mental well-being’ in the community. This phase will be undertaken with the view to documenting and evidencing the strengths and potential of the approaches, processes, and tools/methods inherent to an ‘intentional community of support for mental well-being’ model. The community engagement practice is underpinned by research enquiry (including embodied enquiry) and will lead to deeper understanding of ‘intentional communities of support for mental well-being’ as an approach.