Mental health peer worker using lived experience to help inpatients in Wickford
It is International Men's Day
A peer worker is drawing on his struggles with addiction and mental health to help others at a secure mental health unit in Wickford.
Dan Buck, this International Men's Day, tells us about how he is using his own lived experience to support patients, and transform care at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
Dan works at three wards at Brockfield House, and is one of 20 peer workers introduced as part of the trust's Time to Care programme.
All peer workers have had experience of mental health challenges, and use these experiences to support patients.
“I went through 20 years of struggling to understand my own mental health,” Dan shares.
“I self-medicated with alcohol for a long time before hitting rock bottom about five years ago. That experience lit a fire in me to help others in similar situations.”
After completing a nine-week community rehabilitation programme in Braintree, Dan became involved with the Essex Recovery Foundation, a lived-experience charity set up to improve addiction and recovery services. As a community engagement worker, he helped create recovery spaces across Essex where people could support one another. When the peer worker role came up at Brockfield House, he knew it was the next step in his journey.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do - use my experience to shine a light for others,” says Dan. “I can show people that recovery is real and achievable, and that there’s always a way forward.”