Sutton Mental Health Foundation is holding a six month exhibition at Whitehall Historic House which started on Friday 27 January 2023.
The foundation is a community mental health support service for anyone under 18 and living in the London Borough of Sutton.
Ovie Oboh, Operations Manager at Sutton Mental Health Foundation and working group lead for the exhibition said: “Stigma is one of the biggest causes of people living in silence and not having the confidence to speak about their mental health.
“We want the exhibition to kindle new conversations between friends and family about mental health and give people the words and confidence to better express their own feelings, experiences, and fears.
“Stigma can only be beaten if everyone is able to listen and acknowledge each other respectfully.
“I want everyone to be seen and feel lucky, not just a small handful of people.”
The exhibition itself is showcasing the lived experiences of local people who have faced hospitalisation due to their mental health, with one in four adults experiencing mental illness.
All of the service users in the production of the exhibition have shared the same experiences of being in hospital, losing friends and family due to mental health problems and have survived.
The showcase aims to start a conversation about mental health, which is often a difficult subject to talk about.
The exhibition features the history of mental health in Sutton which has been sourced from documents from Sutton Archives.
‘The Lucky Ones: Restoring identity with the Sutton Mental Health Foundation’ is a free exhibition at Whitehall Historic House, SM3 8QD.
The exhibition will be open from 27 January to 1 July 2023.
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with their mental health, help is available.
Contact Sutton Mental Health Foundation at www.smhf.org.uk or the exhibition to find out what support is available.
Featured image credit: Sutton Mental Health Foundation
