ELFT colleagues, Newham Council colleagues, representatives from community charities and groups, service users, carers and other Newham residents took the time to discuss plans for the college.
The Newham Recovery College is due to launch in late 2023 and will provide sessions for anyone over the age of 18 living or working in the borough.
Its mission will be to promote wellbeing and to support people on their mental health recovery journey through education.
Open online and in-person events have been held for anyone interested in learning more about the project and to share their ideas.
“I am delighted that so many people made the time to come along, find out more and contribute to discussions,” said Newham Recovery College project manager Becky Derham.
“We discussed themes from course content and how the college could support people during the cost of living crisis to how the college can remain true to the principle of co-production.”
She added: “Another huge positive was the interest from service users and carers about becoming peer tutors and from staff about becoming tutors to co-facilitate alongside people with lived experience.”
Next steps for the college programme will be to recruit a core staff team and peer tutors and start developing branding for the college in partnership with service users.
The collaborative project is being led by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) and all courses will be co-produced and co-delivered by people with lived experience alongside staff and other experts by profession.
Email Becky on becky.derham1@nhs.net if you are interested in getting involved with the Newham Recovery College programme.