Real Lives, Real People

This report follows up on theexperiences of those involved in Mind's 'Real lives, Real people' programme, which gave training awards to people with mental health problems to enable them to achieve a personal goal that also benefited other people.

The interviewees found the experience of winning the award personally fulfilling. They all reported enormous personal gains and most achieved all they had set out to do, in many cases exceeding their expectations.

Although the size and scope of projects varied greatly, award winners' sense of personal achievement was not dependent on the size of their project. Winning an award was described as "a fantastic opportunity" and "life changing". Others described feeling "inspired", "less isolated", and experiencing "a new found creativity".