Mind: supporting a new in-house stories team
The client
Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. It provides support and information to people experiencing mental health problems and campaigns for better mental health policies and services. It also works to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and promotes a society where everyone has access to the support they need.
The problem
Surprisingly, for a charity the size of Mind, it didn’t have a stories function until October 2023. When Voices Manager Phil Marley began his role, he was starting from scratch. Not only did he have to deliver on the many story requests from across the organisation, but he also had to set up the team’s systems and processes.
“My role was to set foundations and make sure we were tight on things like compliance, safeguarding and data protection,” explains Phil. “But people had been waiting for this function for a long time, so there was already a huge appetite for stories. I needed to build a brand-new pool of engaged storytellers, and get them ready for big requests and exciting opportunities. At that time I was a team of one, so it was just impossible by myself.”
The solution
We were brought in to help Mind build a bank of in-depth stories to meet the growing demands of the organisation. Gathering stories from people who are living with significant mental health problems and/or have experienced trauma calls for highly sensitive, empathetic relationship building and interview skills. Along the way we have worked with Mind to critique their strategy and inform its risk assessment and safeguarding practice.
With Phil and eventually the new Voices Officer Charlie passing us leads, we do a scoping call to introduce ourselves and prepare the storyteller, followed by a long-form interview. We work on the transcript with the storyteller to get it to a point where they feel fully comfortable with it and complete the informed consent process with them. We then send it over to Phil and Charlie, who take the relationship from there.
To date we have gathered around 20 stories for Mind and our work with the organisation continues on a rolling basis.
The impact
“It feels very special working with Mile 91. From the outset, it felt like an extension of the team. I haven’t worked with another agency who feel this engaged, warm and personable. I don’t think anyone matches their expertise or their culture of storytelling.
“Every story that comes through Mile 91 is impactful, with some of the most engaging quotes we’ve had. Key stories have been used at the forefront of major campaigns and appeal moments, and have been the faces of big mental health moments.
“We’ve now shifted into a space at Mind where storytelling is front and centre of what we do – and engagement with our content, donations and campaign sign-ups have increased because of it. Mile 91 have played an instrumental role in this.”