History in the making...

One of the reasons Oor Mad History started was because we didn't want to forget the past. But history isn't just about the past, it is about now. We want the archive to be a living archive with new material being added all the time. We want people now to see themselves as part of a history, and their actions now are creating history.

The user movement started in the 1980s. People then didn't think that they were making history, at least I doubt they were. I think they were just busy doing what they thought needed doing. 

Almost thirty years on, we are still making history.

Spending cuts review, welfare reforms, public service cuts... it is an anxious time for most people with mental health problems, whether on benefits or not. The fear of what will happen the services and benefits that most of us need is made worse by the way the government and some of the media talk about the "workshy".

I know a lot of people who turn off the news and avoid the papers because of this.

But I know some people who are saying "right, what can we do about this?" That is history in the making.