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Community Check-In 💛

ellaella Community Manager Posts: 358 Listening Ear
edited 14:11 in Community Announcements
Hi everyone,

We understand that the previous thread about some new safeguarding policies generated a lot of strong emotions, including confusion, worry, and frustration. We want to honour these feelings let you you know they are valid- we know change can feel so overwhelming. We wanted to open up this thread so we can have some constructive conversations together about some of the worries that were raised this morning :)

A few important reminders:

Community Guidelines: It's not okay to post private Direct Messages (DMs) in public spaces.

Public Forum: Please remember that our community boards are public spaces. Sharing details about private, live, and ongoing safeguarding cases in a public setting is not safe so please be mindful about what you choose to share.



We know that there's been a lot of change at The Mix, including team changes and the merger with MHI. These changes haven’t been easy and have led some of you to feel uncertain or anxious about the service. We want to assure you that we're navigating these changes alongside you— this period of transition has been tricky for our team as well. With so many staff changes, we're all adjusting to new roles and responsibilities and only want to do whats’s best for you all. It's all of us versus these challenges, not us versus each other <3

We hear your confusion around the current safeguarding policies and take accountability for the absence of communication around this. In light of this, we're organising a Safeguarding Q&A where you'll have the opportunity to "meet" The Mix and MHI safeguarding officers on the boards and ask them your questions directly.

To help our officers prepare, you can also pre-submit anonymous questions via this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciKHfwEGmqXevpHmhHvsZaVTDgtqYf7K8HoOn9YPEgeXM91A/viewform

We’ll also be setting up a Safeguarding Glossary thread which will hopefully provide clear definitions of key terms and processes, such as "Position of Trust" and the procedures for contacting non-emergency and emergency services to avoid any confusion moving forward.



We want to emphasise that we encourage you to ask any questions you may have. While the previous thread was closed in line with our community guidelines, this was not intended to shut down the conversation or disempower anyone. We understand that there's a lot of panic and confusion, and we know that it can be especially difficult to navigate these issues when you're also dealing with other things outside of this forum. We truly want to listen to your opinions and welcome all your questions in this space.

We know there have been a lot of recent changes for all of us to process – staff changes, merging with MHI, and shifts in Safeguarding. It's a lot to take in, and it can feel unsettling.

We hear you, and you deserve clarity.



We hope this thread has been helpful in opening up a space for open and honest conversation. We value your presence on the community and will work together to create a safe, supportive and trusting space for everyone.

If you have questions about your own personal, ongoing safeguarding case, please DM us. We're working with the safeguarding team to get answers for you and will reply as quickly as possible.

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Comments

  • Rose113Rose113 Community Champion Posts: 2,801 Boards Guru
    Thank you @ella <3
    Want to hurt me… go ahead
    Wish to bully me…I’m used to it
    Want to talk crap about me…go on then
    Want to make me cry…feel free
  • Sian321Sian321 Community Manager Posts: 264 The Mix Regular
    Thank you very much for this post, @ella . I echo everything you have shared. Ella and I are here all day today to support you all <3
  • shannon_164shannon_164 Posts: 518 Incredible Poster
    thank you for this @ella - as much as the many changes have been super hard and sometimes a bit confusing, it’s understandable that it hasn’t been ‘perfect’ too🙂

    i’m so grateful for the support that use provide us all with - all the staff and mods are amazing🩷
  • Summerjune15Summerjune15 Posts: 86 Budding Regular
    @ella thank you and @Sian321 thank you too and I am sorry I’m just freaking out about the situation but personally I don’t think the police will need to get in contact with me it was 4 years ago and there’s no evidence I don’t remember the police officers appearance name etc so I’m not going to stress because an investigation is not happening over something that happened along time ago with no evidence or don’t know the male officer etc
  • Lili5BetLili5Bet Posts: 48 Boards Initiate
    Thank you @ella <3
  • FaolanFaolan Posts: 118 The Mix Convert
    This will be helpful. Thank you for organising it
  • independent_independent_ Community Champion Posts: 9,076 Supreme Poster
    edited 16:05
    I got back to the original thread in time before it gets deleted, but with the edits I am still somewhat confused. I understand why the mix might need to call police in some circumstances but I feel communication on this needs to be really, really clear. AKA, we have called 101 because of x reason, and this is what might happen next.

    People are rightfully scared of police and the impact a police call will have. If the mix keep any form of notes on individual people, they might know the reasons why - I’m sure you know my own reasons for distrusting police. It’s a shame that police, rather than healthcare professionals, are who all of these services (not just the mix but shout and others too) have to turn to - most aren’t trained in any of this mental health stuff (appreciate it’s different for safeguarding).

    Edited to say that it does raise questions around the mix’s role in historical abuse cases. I’m not talking about ongoing abuse here, but someone who is now an adult disclosing that they were abused in childhood. This is not an emergency if they’re out of the situation and many will feel uncomfortable reporting it for whatever reason, and putting pressure on these people to report can push them away from accessing support.
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
  • Summerjune15Summerjune15 Posts: 86 Budding Regular
    @independent_ hi so basically 4 years ago a police officer said I deserve a beating cause of my behaviour but it was just my mental health at the time and I do have behavioural issues but anyway someone was talking about police in the support group chat and I shared my experience to let that person know I understand but because it was someone of trust like police they had to report it but I don’t know what’s going to happen next and that’s why I’m so annoyed and panicking but I’m not going to worry about it If the police get in contact with me or turn up to my house I’ve been on edge for 3 days and my friend is coming over so I’m just going to have a good time
  • independent_independent_ Community Champion Posts: 9,076 Supreme Poster
    @independent_ hi so basically 4 years ago a police officer said I deserve a beating cause of my behaviour but it was just my mental health at the time and I do have behavioural issues but anyway someone was talking about police in the support group chat and I shared my experience to let that person know I understand but because it was someone of trust like police they had to report it but I don’t know what’s going to happen next and that’s why I’m so annoyed and panicking but I’m not going to worry about it If the police get in contact with me or turn up to my house I’ve been on edge for 3 days and my friend is coming over so I’m just going to have a good time

    @Summerjune15 that might have been myself you were talking to about it. I do remember now so thanks for reminding me.
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
  • eylaheylah Posts: 5,735 Part of The Furniture
    i rly appreciate this especially bc when you guys contacted the police on me abt when a officer was talking to me. it made me rly uncomfortable bc i hate police but i appreciate this post.
    keep your face always toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you. 🤍

    pfp made by @Chloe234 ❤️
  • Summerjune15Summerjune15 Posts: 86 Budding Regular
    @eylah absolutely hate the police that’s why I freaked when they said they calling 101 but thank you for earlier💕
  • eylaheylah Posts: 5,735 Part of The Furniture
    @eylah absolutely hate the police that’s why I freaked when they said they calling 101 but thank you for earlier💕

    sending you hugs you can always msg me if you need anything <3
    keep your face always toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you. 🤍

    pfp made by @Chloe234 ❤️
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