Be more pirate; keep kicking down doors and challenging systems and practises; be authentic; listen to what someone is saying – not just what you want to hear; never stop learning; don’t lose sight of my own lived experience and how it can inform my practice.
These were just some of the pledges made at the 'Learning from the Lived Experience' event hosted by the BU PIER partnership and the BU Centre for Seldom Heard Voices on the 17 June 2019.
The event coincided with the launch of the text book: A Guide to Statutory Social Work Interventions: the lived experience, edited by Dr Mel Hughes and co-authored by social workers and people with lived experience of social work. Social workers, educators, students and people with lived experience shared their expertise and insights at the event. The event explored how creating opportunities to learn from the lived experience in our day to day work will improve outcomes for all involved.
Special thanks to Michael Wootten and Rachel Jury for their inspirational presentations. They provided insight to us all on just how important it is that we challenge oppressive systems; maintain relationship based practice; improve communication and stay human.