Charlotte’s advice for attending events as a lived experience voice

Charlotte Atkin is a member of our Lived & Living Experience Panel. At our recent Creating Hope Together conference, she was one of our brilliant co-chairs.

In this blog, she reflects on her experience, and provides helpful advice for others getting involved in events like this as an individual.

Learn more about the day on our Conference 2025 hub — click here.

I recently attended the Creating Hope Together Conference with Suicide Prevention Scotland.

There’s so much I took away, attending as a lived experience voice, rather than with an organisation working within suicide prevention.

As a lived experience voice at these events, there are always so many ‘close to home’ moments that can make the day feel quite intense. I found myself teary-eyed more often than not.

Suicide Prevention Scotland do an excellent job of keeping attendees safe; offering listening volunteers throughout the day and encouraging an open door policy where people can step out of the agenda for as long as they need.

They are a great example of how to make events accessible for us, as people with lived experience.

Here’s what I would recommend to keep yourself safe, as a lived-experience voice.

Before the event:

• Decide on your boundaries; determine, to yourself, what parts of your story you’re willing to share openly, and what parts might be off-limits
• Look at the agenda; see what workshops, speakers and conversations will take place. if there’s anything there that might be too much, and there likely will be, make note of the time and arrange to sit out of anything you don’t feel up for
• Plan for afterwards; will you have somebody available for you to reach out to if there’s anything you’d like to talk about? speak to members of your support system, see who will be around
• Arrange aftercare; pick something non-commital that makes you feel good. For example, buy a new bath bomb and candles to use once you’re home or put some money aside for a takeaway

During the event:

• Those boundaries we spoke about? remember them throughout the day, and stick to them. They might change and that’s okay, but only do what’s comfortable for you
• No pressure; there should never be any pressure for you to share any aspect of your story. if you don’t feel ready to talk, you don’t need to talk
• Step out at any time; if there’s no open door policy (which there should always be), go to the bathroom, pretend you’ve got an urgent phone call to take, maybe you’ve suddenly got a common nose bleed. Do what you need to do to take a step away, and come back when you’re ready

After the event:

• Provide feedback; tell the organising team what went well and what didn’t. what would you suggest they change to make it more accessible for lived experience voices in the future?
• I don’t recommend making plans with friends or family, you’re likely going to be exhausted, emotionally and physically. But if you think you’d like to see somebody, do something you are comfortable leaving at any point
• Do something you LOVE; for me, it’s playing the ukulele, eating some good food and taking my dog for a walk
• If you’re ready; reflect on what you’ve learned, and think about what you can do next

I hope this helps with any events you may have coming up 💡

If you are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help, speak to someone you trust or call one of these helplines:

• Samaritans — 116 123 or use the online chat at samaritans.org
• Breathing Space — 0800 83 85 87
• NHS 24 mental health hub — 111
• PAPYRUS HOPELINE247–0800 068 4141 or text 88247

If you are ever in immediate danger or have the means to cause yourself harm you should dial 999 and request an ambulance.