Interview

One minute interview

Julie Downs is co-ordinator of the Hearing Voices Network

What is the campaign about?

We are not a campaigning group as such, we are a support network for people who hear voices, their relatives and friends, carers, and mental and other workers. We provide information, advice, self help groups, newsletters, publications, conferences and training. But one of our aims is to reduce the stigma surrounding people who hear voices — and especially in the way they are often portrayed in the media.

How long have you been going?

We started in Manchester as a small group in 1989 and are celebrating our 15th anniversary this year. We are now nationwide — there are 150 hearing voices groups in the UK and some in several other countries.

Who is involved?

We are a voluntary organisation and achieved charitable status in 2002. We have a committee of 14 trustees, half of whom are people who hear voices. We operate from our national office in Manchester, where we have only one full time paid worker and several volunteers. We are reliant on volunteers throughout the country, many of whom hear voices themselves.

Your biggest success?

Our biggest achievement is that through providing training to mental health workers we have changed the way that mental health care professionals respond to people who hear voices. It is becoming increasingly recognised that hearing voices is a relatively common occurrence and, on its own, is not necessarily a symptom of mental illness.

Your biggest failure?

We know that there is a great need for our services that we are currently unable to meet, particularly in London. This is really simply due to lack of money and resources. Raising funding is very time consuming and so our biggest failure comes down to not attracting more funding.

What would help most in achieving your ends?

Over the last few years demand for our services has increased and what would help us most is obtaining funding for more paid workers, so that we can develop our work in the areas where we have identified the greatest need. We also want to increase our work with children and young people who hear voices.

And how can readers get in touch?

Contact us at: Hearing Voices Network, 91 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LW

tel: 0161 384 5768 or email: info@hearing-voices.org

www.hearing-voices.org