Foundations First, Growth Second.
Before we grow Sanctus Talks we need our foundations to be solid, safe and secure. For you and for me.
This blog is about Sanctus Talks and how it’s changing, it’s important for anyone and everyone who joins the Sanctus Community
Sanctus Talks is our monthly meet up where you can come and connect with new people and have a chat about mental health.
Eight months down the line since joining Sanctus I’ve hosted 18 Talks and three Stories Live’s, that’s about 300-ish people I’ve helped talk about their mental health in a public setting.
I cherish my job, I honour it and I thank those who use those safe spaces with me. But I can’t ignore the seriousness of my role, I’m not helping sell more swanky mango juice, I’m helping empower people to connect with others over a difficult and super personal topic.
Not only is a Community Manager quite a new and broad role, Sanctus itself is the first of its kind. There’s so much room to grow but so many unknowns.
Our mistake.
In spectacular start-up fashion, we tried to scale Sanctus Talks too quickly, we wanted the magic that happens at Talks to be accessible to everyone across the UK and beyond.
The reality is that scaling something like Talks quickly isn’t a good idea. In fact, I hate that phrase ‘scaling’. I don’t want to scale quickly without properly ensuring what I’m scaling in the first place is a safe and valuable space for people.
What happened when we tried to expand Talks?
We launched an Ambassador Programme with three kind, strong and dedicated people in our community; Luke, Bryony and Africa. Our three incredible ambassadors all put their time and their energy towards hosting Sanctus Talks across London.
We did it, we hosted three talks in North, South and West London — which was amazing. However, the truth is we tried to run before we could walk and we didn’t give enough thought as to how we would safely grow Sanctus Talks alongside a fledgling Ambassador programme.
All in all, it went well, but my gut was telling me something was wrong; that I had put three people into a situation they may not be prepared for and that we weren’t prepared for. It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to close the ambassador programme for now and I thank Luke, Bryony and Africa for their time, energy and compassion.
Now, begins the work.
Defining Boundaries First, then come the questions.
Recently we clarified our boundaries to ensure the world beyond us knows what we do and what we don’t do. We work in an industry and area that touches the most crucial and vital part of peoples lives, so this is really important to us.
With Sanctus Talks in particular, I’ve taken a step back to ask myself; “Am I doing people justice? Am I doing this safely?’”
The boundaries of Talks are clearer now and can be read on our Eventbrite page.
Nothing’s actually changed, we’re just clearer on what Talks are. You come, you share, you connect. Talks really are amazing, but it’s important that every person in the group fully understands what Sanctus Talks can provide and what they can’t.
Sanctus Talks is a space to talk about mental health, not work on your mental health and that distinction is really really important. It’s a conversational group about mental health, not group therapy even if we do sit in a circle.
Very often, what I’ve come face to face with is people who are struggling and needed some immediate support. Now, I work on my mental health; I’ve been suicidal, I have panic attacks, I’ve got a sibling who has a mental illness, alcoholism runs in my family, I’m in therapy, I attend groups, I don’t drink and I exercise regularly. So I believe I’m relatively capable to empathise and hold a space for people, yet it’s still affected me and I’ve found it difficult.
Hosting Sanctus Talks is incredibly rewarding, but it’s not always easy and I’m learning how I best resource myself to be the best host I can be (as well as everything else in my life).
So, postponing the ‘scaling’ of Talks isn’t because we don’t care about it, it’s because we really deeply do and we want to get it right.
Where are we now?
If Talks is open to the public and easily accessible then Sanctus has the responsibility to make sure anyone who hosts a Talks is comfortable and confident in creating a space, holding it, actively listening and signposting those who may want further help or may be at risk. If we get it right for the Host, then it’ll be a really awesome and valuable space for people.
Right now, that one Host is me and with the help of our Head Coaches we’ve outlined the Talks boundaries, my role and how to facilitate safe conversation. We also now have our Orange Pages which are a total collection of mental health resources such as helplines, groups, charities, low-income therapists and addiction services.
So we’ve brought it back, to just me in Shoreditch, twice a month, hosting Talks and it’ll stay like that until we really feel ready to safely grow it.
To make the dream of making Sanctus Talks accessible nationwide we have to get it right here at our home in Shoreditch first and we also have to ensure that it’s something that people really value and want.
That’s one of the reasons why Talks is now a fiver, so we can really see if people are willing to pay a small amount for it and it’ll help us turn Talks into something that can grow and flourish.
Imagine the Park Run of mental health, where people across the UK are all congregating to talk openly about their mental health, just like they’d go for a jog. That’s what we want, that’s what people need.
Thank you for reading my ramblings, I hope to see you at Talks anytime.
Ro
