What is the ‘see me’ Pledge?
Many organisations across Scotland have made a commitment to work with ‘see me’ in order to eliminate the stigma and discrimination of mental ill-health. Some of those have made a clear and public statement about this commitment by signing the ‘see me’ anti-stigma Pledge. This statement and commitment to anti-stigma work will in turn be seen by employees, by customers or users of services and by the wider public.
The signing ‘ceremony’ is simple: The Chief Executive or Chairperson from the signing organisation and the Campaign Director from ‘see me’ together sign a large Pledge board.
The pledge text reads as follows:
We, the undersigned, are committed to work as part of the ‘see me…’ campaign to challenge the stigma associated with mental ill-health, and to eliminate the discrimination experienced by people with mental health problems.
The board becomes the property of the signing organisation, to display as it thinks best. Many organisations choose to display the board in their central lobby, entrance, or somewhere else where it is visible to most people.
Forth Valley Chief Executives Group signing the 'see me' Pledge December 2007.
What does signing the ‘see me’ Pledge mean in practice?
To date well over one hundred organisations have signed the ‘see me’ Pledge. These include private companies, voluntary sector organisations, public bodies, football teams, a trade union and educational institutions. Some of the newer signatories include: Falkirk Football Club, NHS Lothian, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, HMP Kilmarnock, Openreach in Scotland (part of the BT group), Turning Point Scotland, University of the West of Scotland, East Lothian Housing Association, Torness Power Station and UPM Kymmene (Caledonian Paper).
The ‘see me’ anti-stigma message is an inclusive one. It doesn’t seek to point the finger or tell people that they are ‘doing it wrong’. The ‘see me’ strapline is ‘Let’s Stop The Stigma Of Mental Ill-Health’ – reinforcing the notion that stigma is a shared problem and tackling it is something we can all do together. Any organisation can sign the Pledge knowing that it will be seen to take full ‘ownership’ of its commitment and any follow-up work it does.
How to take action
As all organisations are very different in their work, size, and structure, the “small print” – how the pledge is implemented – often varies.
‘see me’ asks organisations to agree on a suitable action plan as part of the signing process and the plan is signed at Chief Exec level as part of the Pledge ceremony. Some of the actions that have been taken over the years include: Communication Workers Union arranging mental health awareness training for their representatives (jointly with the managers from one of their main employer, Openreach); Motherwell FC having a half-time signing ceremony, players wearing ‘see me’ T-shirts in match warm-up with general anti-stigma publicity promoted in the match programme and through the tannoys; many have put messages on company payslips and articles in staff newsletters.
‘see me’ has a range of images, resources and ideas that organisations can use. Joint branding of 'see me' campaign materials – where locally relevant messages, contact details and logos are used alongside ‘see me’ images and messages – has been used extensively.
An organisation may want to focus on promoting the anti-stigma message to its customers, clients and stakeholders. Being a Pledge signatory can be a means of differentiating yourself from other service-providers and send a powerful message out about the type of service you intend to provide. An organisation which challenges stigma publicly also promotes a culture of help-seeking and recovery, contributing to reduced absence rates.
The ‘commitment movement’ is gathering pace. Your organisation can be part of it!