HOW I GOT HERE
Mental health charity boss Poppy Jaman
Poppy Jaman left school at 16. Fast forward to the present and she has an OBE, an honorary doctorate from the University of Gloucester, and is a global leader in mental health education. Jaman grew the Mental Health First Aid England scheme to a £10m turnover initiative before co-founding City Mental Health Alliance, which works with companies and organisations to help them become mentally healthy workplaces.
I NEVER SET OUT TO WORK IN MENTAL HEALTH.
I didn’t really know what it was. We weren’t talking about mental health 23 years ago in the way we do now. In fact, I began my career, aged 20, as a community development worker with Citizens Advice in Portsmouth.
IN 1998, I WAS ASKED TO RUN A LOCAL AUTHORITY PROJECT CALLED CULTURE WORKS.
This supported people in the community after they came out of long-term hospital care for severe mental illness. It was the first time I realised how little education there was in the area, particularly when it came to people from minority communities. In Bangladeshi culture, for example, there is no word for depression.
I EXPERIENCED POST-NATAL DEPRESSION IN MY 20s, AFTER THE BIRTHS OF MY DAUGHTERS.
While there was no direct connection between my experiences and the career I chose, they triggered a strong desire to have stability, meaning and purpose in my life. Seeing a therapist who didn’t understand my cultural background or the gender restraints I had at the time further emphasised my desire to make a meaningful change for everyone everywhere.
AGED 28, I WENT TO UNIVERSITY TO DO A PART-TIME MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.
I was running national programmes for the Department of Health, but I was experiencing impostor syndrome. I was a small Asian woman, a single mum with no real academic qualifications, surrounded by highly educated clinicians. I loved the course and learned a lot. However, while qualifications are important, you shouldn’t let the absence of them stop you.
IN 2007, I BECAME AWARE OF A SCHEME BEING ROLLED OUT IN SCOTLAND AND AUSTRALIA CALLED MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID. The idea was to offer training to the public in the same way as a first aid qualification. I was tasked with growing the initiative in England to become an independent community interest company. As it was new, there was no evidence to support it, so convincing people it could be effective was tough.
RESISTANCE AND JUDGEMENT MADE ME MORE DETERMINED.
In 2008, I was appointed founding CEO of Mental Health First Aid England – a role I held for 10 years. When I left the organisation, we’d created a network of 1,800 instructors, who have trained 300,000 mental health first aiders.
‘RESISTANCE AND JUDGEMENT MADE ME MORE DETERMINED’
MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS TO BE PART OF EVERYDAY LANGUAGE.
We have to take it out of the clinical setting and treat it as we would physical health. That’s why, eight years ago, I co-founded City Mental Health Alliance, a global organisation working with businesses to aid mental wellness in the workplace.
WE WORK WITH COMPANIES IN THE UK, HONG KONG AND AUSTRALIA,
and there are more countries in the pipeline. I’m so proud that, since we began, we’ve seen a 44% increase in reported mental health problems, meaning employees feel comfortable speaking up to access the help they need.
I WISH I COULD ELIMINATE SHAME.
Every 40 seconds, someone in the world dies by suicide. Often, it’s not the mental health issue that kills someone – it’s the stigma. I don’t know how to get rid of shame, but I know how to educate people. Changing cultures and increasing awareness makes an enormous difference. I want to change the world, just a little bit, but we still have a long way to go.