Speaker: Dr Rachel Perkins, OBE, Senior Consultant, Implementing Recovery through Organisational Change (ImROC) 
Chair: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Disability Advisory Committee

Social inclusion and participation are central to enabling those of us who live with mental health challenges to recover a meaningful, valued and satisfying life.

This involves not only having access to opportunities that exist within communities, but also being a valued member of those communities and, most importantly having the opportunity to contribute: always being on the receiving end of help and support is a demoralising and dispiriting place to be.

There are many ways of contributing to our communities, but employment – having a job – is the most widely recognised and socially valued and most people with mental health challenges want a job, not the ‘sheltered workshops’ and seemingly endless ‘work training’ that we have traditionally been offered.

This seminar will explore the importance of employment and evidence based ‘Individual Placement and Support’ that enables many people from different communities to realise their ambitions.