[This part of the project was completed by Sarah Norman and Rumilla Uddin, in collaboration with Dr Iona Beange and Dr Pippa Thomson of The University of Edinburgh and the Community Wellbeing Collective].   Sarah’s Reflections From the Question Selection Workshop   “Where was I when this question was asked?” – Rumilla Uddin The question […]

[This part of the project was completed by Sarah Norman and Rumilla Uddin, in collaboration with Dr Iona Beange and Dr Pippa Thomson of The University of Edinburgh and the Community Wellbeing Collective. This post follows on from How Do You Deal With Stress? Part 1: Selecting the question]   For this research, we want to […]

What makes us feel safe? The second workshop began with a check-in to say a few words about how we are feeling and what makes us feel safe, before having a conversation about how to create emotional safety as a group when working in mental health research. Ideas included:  no lone working, collective understanding of […]

Words of Kindness In our first workshop one of our members offered to lead an activity at the beginning of the session in which we were invited to write ‘words of kindness’ and place them in a bowl nearby to us. At the end of the workshop each of us took some ‘words of kindness’, […]

Our Community Researchers have taken part in two workshops so far, each of which has created ‘data’. But what should happen to this data? Change of use? Some of the data was initially collected for the purposes of evaluation. However, upon further discussion with researchers, it turns out to be interesting ‘data’ in its own […]

As a collective, there are some foundations that allow us to carve out time for togetherness, reflection and learning around mental health and collective work. These include: Check-ins and check-outs (opportunity for each person to say a little about how they are at the start and end of each session) Because when working together we […]

The Community Wellbeing Collective The CWC are a growing group of 30+ people from, and connected to, Wester Hailes – practising mutual care, responsibility, vulnerability, and solidarity. Together we run a Community Wellbeing Space in Westside Plaza shopping centre, which is by and for the people. The group is always growing and changing but as […]

Community Research? The Community Wellbeing Collective (CWC) describe themselves as ‘community researchers’, emphasising their community connections, the grassroots nature of their organisation and their interest in ‘finding out more’. Social Practice? Perhaps, in part, CWC’s choice of words stems from their history. CWC were brought together in 2021 by social-practice artist Jeanne van Heeswijk, as […]