Hearing Voices Café, 19th October 2024 

On Saturday 19th October, CHARM in collaboration with the Hearing Voices Network  held a wonderful event to spread  the word about the hearing voices  approach across Manchester and  the wider region. 

With a turnout of around 140 people from all walks  of life, it was a very emotional and  powerful day. We hoped to raise  awareness of a more holistic,  community-based approach to  hearing voices, and to inspire nurturing of compassionate  practices across the hearing  voices network and beyond  

Reflections from the Hearing Voices café

On display was part of the ‘Hearing the Voice’ exhibition originally shown  in Durham, giving a great historical background to the movement. We showed an excerpt from ‘Voices Matter’ and ‘Compassion for Voices’,  films which powerfully highlight the positive impact of the approach in  people’s lives and the potential harm caused by the current psychiatric  system to people experiencing unusual experiences.

People were invited  to take part in a voice hearing simulation in small groups, designed to get  people thinking about how their thoughts, feelings and behaviour may be  affected if they were voice-hearing.

Several facilitators of local groups,  including the Muslim Voice, Women’s hearing voices group, Lancaster  group and support group, held a panel to discuss ways to access support. 

We then held an open discussion forum where people shared stories and we explored as a community ways to support loved ones.

In the craft area, attendees were invited to create a model of their voice or an element of  themselves.

The day was soundtracked by music from local and  international voice-hearers which highlighted both the challenges and  beauty that alternative experiences can bring to people’s lives. 

Held in collaboration with Bembe café, we broke bread with delicious  Swahili food created by Sheika and Elmi who will imminently be running  the café in Alexandra Park.

We hope to continue a mutually beneficial  relationship both with Bembe and with other organisations across the city, to raise awareness and address stigma within all communities, fostering  community support for people to explore unusual experiences through an  alternative lens than the traditional psychiatric view.