Lived Experience Team
We’re the Lived Experience Team (LETs), a group of volunteers aged 18+ from Coventry and Warwickshire who use our own experiences with mental health to make a real difference.
Our goal is to improve mental health services by sharing our stories, offering peer support and speaking up about what really matters. By being open about our journeys, we help reduce stigma, raise awareness and support others on their path to recovery.
We get involved in events, outreach, mentoring and even help shape the organisation’s business plan for 2022–2027, making sure it’s impactful, courageous, innovative, inclusive and diverse.
We believe in the power of lived experience and we also know it’s important to look after ourselves. Regular supervision and a supportive team mean we can step back when we need to, then jump back in when we’re ready. Because caring for ourselves helps us care for others.
Why join the team?
If you’re a young person with lived experience of mental health challenges, your voice has the power to make a real difference. By joining the Lived Experience Team (LETs), you can help shape mental health services to be more empathetic, inclusive and effective – all while growing personally and professionally.
Meet the team
Mia
I have been a member of the Lived Experience Team since the beginning and have loved every second of it! Being part of the Lived Experience Team gives meaning to my experiences by allowing me to use them to support others and help shape better mental health services.
Ryan
Being part of the LET has been life-changing. It’s given me a safe space to share my story, connect with others who truly understand, and feel like I’m making a real difference. I’ve grown in confidence, gained new skills and most importantly, I’ve learned that my experiences can help others heal.
Michelle
To help people with their mental health and safety and share my experience with them.
Fiona
I am passionate about supporting young people experiencing mental health issues and would love to use my voice to help with more opportunities to support young people and contribute to shaping services.
Caitlyn
I wanted to become a LETS volunteer because Mind supported me through my own wellbeing journey and lived experiences. The support I received made a real difference to my life, and now I want to give something back by supporting others and helping them feel heard, understood, and less alone. If I can make a positive difference in even one person’s life, then I know it’s worth it.
Sasha
I’m a part of LETS because of the support I received from Peer Support which has helped with my mental health and General life struggles, I want to help young people to voice their mental health and to help them get through difficult times. I want to be able to make a difference in the mental health industry
Sophie
I’m a member because I strongly feel that mental health support from the community is crucial. I’ve learned this via my own lived experience and I wanted to do my part to make support more accessible and visible in Coventry.
Linda
I am a member of the team to offer support in any way I can. Helping others through similar things I have been through is uplifting and gives a sense of joy and purpose.
Reagan
I was drawn to the opportunity because it meant meeting new people and using my skills and lived experience to help ensure the voices of young people are heard and represented.
