Leeds will soon have its own radio show dedicated to mental health and well being issues. South Leeds Community Radio, a 24 hour online radio station, has been running a training course in conjunction with local anti-stigma campaigners Time to Change Leeds to teach volunteers the skills to run their very own radio shows.
Tricia hones her interview skills
When Time to Change Leeds organiser Tricia Thorpe invited me to attend the training as a Leeds Wellbeing Web rep I had visions of Frasier, one of my favourite 90s sit coms, based on the radio show the psychiatrist ran in Seattle. But this is a lot different, because the people running the show will be people with lived experience of mental health issues – not a psychiatrist in sight.
On the second session of the five week training course, ex BBC man Jaz, the station Manager, showed us how to work the faders, balance the gain, cue in the CD players, and generally run a chat show format, with scintillating conversation interspersed with favourite music tracks. I would never have thought being a DJ was something I could do, and it was strangely exhilerating to have the equipment explained and demystified – it’s not as hard as you’d think.
Tricia’s ambitions are running high. She has plans for Desert Island Disc scenarios with local mental health celebs like Niccola Swan, Manager of Leeds Mind. There’ll also be personal stories and opinions by people with lived experience, news, information, music spots where people can nominate songs with a special significance, and performances by local poets and musicians. In fact its a very open format, and still in the planning stage, so anything could happen.
The show will run for an hour every month, and is planned to start at the end of April or early in May, so watch this space. If you have any great ideas you think would work on radio, let us know and we’ll pass them on, or contact Time To Change Leeds direct on their website or through:
Address: Volition, Suite 17D, Joseph’s Well, Hanover Walk, Leeds, LS3 1AB
Telephone: 0113 242 1321
Mobile: 07577 770972
Leeds Wellbeing Web 
Wow! Lovely post, thanks…exciting project..spring in the air! ‘hey Mr DJ sure sounds good to me’, do hope Leeds Wellbeing Web can come up with innovative use of radio for our project?
Su
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Interesting post, thanks LWW for posting about your participation in this Time to Change project, can see all team being useful DJs and interviewers/ees, Well Done to them too, think it would be useful to interview psychiatrists who suffer MH problems themselves and how this informs their practice.
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Great news and much needed, I have had a lot of past involvement with Bradford Community Radio doing a series of progs on a range of mental health issues but really good that a dedicated Mental Health Radio station for Leeds is being developed.
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Thanks for your responses. Tricia has indicated that she hopes Wellbeing Web reporters will contribute to the monthly programme, and I think it’s up to us what we’d do, so there’s room for imagination. It would be great to do some interviews along the lines you suggest Sue – a roving report from ‘the field’ using audio interviews would certainly be a new direction for us. Sadly it’s only a programme at the moment, Mike, rather than a whole station, but giant oaks from little acorns…..perhaps we could interview you down at Rodley Nature Reserve this Summer, with the happy birds twittering away as they bask in the sunshine and heat? You may say that I’m a dreamer….
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Am seriously embarrassed at being described as a ‘celeb’! Great article otherwise and I can see a lot of potential for this with the ability to reach many new audiences to talk about mental health topics. Love Sue’s idea of interviews with MH professionals who also have MH issues
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Sorry Niccola, the ‘celeb’ comment was cheeky. I should learn not to work on these blogs late at night when I’m ‘disinhibited’.
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The ‘celeb’ comment! Must be the influence of all this media/radio training ! Which is interesting )
Would be nice to interview people to find out what helps them deal with various symptoms such as ruminating etc… something helpful ! 🙂
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Reblogged this on southleedscommunityradio.
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