A strong commitment to the principles of co-production, recovery and education rest at the heart of RecoverED’s current approach to supporting people who are living with emotional discontent/mental health problems.

The roots of RecoverED date back to 2007 when Dr Mark Richardson was tasked with engaging a small group of students in an adult community education outreach project. All participants had lived experience of poor emotional wellbeing. From this point, Mark realised there was a close synergy between recovery from emotional/mental health problems and the principles and aims of community, adult education.

This engagement emerged as a commitment to co-production, recovery and community adult education which eventually found itself within a participatory action research framework. This combination developed an acute attention to critical community engagement led through community research which subsequently helped build new community focused partnerships for engagement. This activity has also inspired the Co-CREATE framework discussed in our services section.

RecoverED then is a specialist, not for profit organisation which is tasked, through Co-CREATE, with developing new and exciting engagement opportunities. We work with and target those who are otherwise termed ‘hard-to-reach’. In this self-developed role RecoverED is also a specialist consultancy for supporting and designing bespoke learning and engagement services for wellbeing and recovery. This focus makes RecoverED the only known research/education focussed organisation in Wales working within the third and voluntary sector in this way. RecoverED supports multiple progression routes which include supported pathways to higher level learning and undergraduate study.

Meet Nic who is a new and very much valued supporter of RecoverED’s mission. Nic’s role in RecoverED is developmental which includes exploring new areas for growth as well as supporting the wider promotional work which gets RecoverED’s name out there. In addition, Nic co-delivers RecoverED’s training.

Nic has expertise and over 20 years of experience within a Dementia support field which has evolved into a Dementia Awareness training package discussed in RecoverED’s delivery services. Alongside her long established work within the Dementia field, Nic has also gained experience and accreditation as a counsellor. In Nic’s words “it’s a great chance working with RecoverED to be able make a difference to people’s lives by changing how we offer community-based support and education”. Onwards and upwards.

RecoverED’s mission

1. Challenge stigma through learning wherever stigma exists

2. Inspiring change so as to Co-CREATE bespoke recovery models

3. Build new and exciting progression routes for all people

RecoverED’s values

a) Encourage wider partnerships across services

b) Collaborate on all activity

c) Integrity – we need to treat people like people

d) Passion and belief – to be committed in heart and in mind

e) Diversity and inclusivity – it doesn’t matter who we are – we’re still human beings

f) Quality – what we do we do well, and we will not let you down

More of this is captured in RecoverED’s manifesto, launched in 2022 and can be accessed here