SYNERGY / DONATE

OUR HISTORY

Synergy Creative Community is a mental health peer-led community organisation based in Brighton, East Sussex. We started in 2009 and registered as a Community Interest Company in 2015. We take a creative approach to well-being and mental health by running weekly sessions of art, music, creative writing, cookery and mindfulness meditation.

OUR APPROACH

At the core of Synergy’s ethos are the concepts
of individual freedom and collective support. By unlocking individuals’ potentials and working to
their strengths, Synergy aims to empower members to manage their own recovery and support others in their recovery. Our peer approach means that people work together, sharing ideas and resources to support others through social connection and exchange: this is a strong feature of our group.

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Through peer-support and building links within the community, we aim to break down barriers associated with mental ill-health. We believe in

promoting a sense of individual and collective identity, confidence, strength and support.

At the heart our approach is the aim to create a non- judgemental, inclusive space, for people to connect and share experiences of rediscovery, recovery and reintegration.

WHO WE ARE

Synergy directors are Odi Oquosa and Neil Holmes.

Odi Oquosa

When Odi moved to the UK in 2001 from Nigeria he was seen
by the mental health services but felt that his needs were not met.

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Odi became a mental health advocate for holistic treatment and was chair for 4 years for the Patient and Public Involvement Forum NHS. Odi went on to train as a peer support specialist and also studied art psychotherapy at Goldsmith in London.
In 2014, he graduated from the University of Brighton with a BA Hons in Social Science and this year he will gain his MA in Social Work from the University of Sussex.

Neil Holmes

Neil has worked in the community and voluntary sector for 18 years in the field of mental health, working to develop, grow and sustain charities and community groups.

He is passionate about neighbourhoods and communities and the role of the third sector within these. Neil has been involved with Synergy since 2009 helping it to grow and develop. He is committed to influencing health inequalities and social injustice, in particular issues relating to well-being and mental health. Neil believes in challenging prejudice, discrimination and stigma.