Recovery Partners provides individual and drop-in peer support to people with mental health challenges. It is the only peer led service in East Sussex. Nearly 300 people have received peer support from Recovery Partners in the last year.
Currently there is a consultation about cutting funding for mental health voluntary sector organisations in East Sussex by 36% (a total of 80% cut in funding from the County Council) due to national government cuts to East Sussex.
We call on East Sussex mental health commissioners to continue funding Recovery Partners in full. Recovery Partners is effective and cost efficient.
People who receive the service are very positive about it:
• 100% say they would recommend Recovery Partners peer support to others
• 88% say it improved their health and wellbeing
• 56% say it improved their relationships with other people
• 18% said it helped them get back to work and 32% to education
• 26% said it literally saved their lives
One service user said, "Recovery Partners is such an important service because they encourage you to make your own choices when it comes to your own recovery. I love the fact that you can talk freely without worrying about whether someone is analysing or judging you. It is support without making you feel like someone else is in control."
Please sign this petition to ask the commissioners to continue to fund Recovery Partners in full.People also say that seeing a peer support specialist reduced their use of other services such as visits to A&E, hospital admissions, appointments with GPs and psychiatrists. Therefore the service actually saves money – for every £1 spent on Recovery Partners individual peer support, £9:50 is saved from the NHS and social care. Recovery Partners currently receives £84,000 per annum to provide peer support, of which £37,000 is from adult social care funding.
Here are some more quotes from service users showing the value of Recovery Partners:
‘when I was very depressed, my peer kept encouraging me to keep going by giving me examples of her recovery story’
'my peer talked and listened to me and helped me understand and cope with my situation better’
‘I have found it helpful to spend time with others with similar experiences’
‘I would definitely recommend peer support’
