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In the May issue of A life in the day, we flagged up the imminent establishment of a new Service Development Network aiming to encourage the development of better employment, training and work rehabilitation opportunities for users and ex‐users of mental health services. This new national network, WorkNet, is now up and running and in this issue its co‐ordinator, Patience Seebohm, outlines its aims and activities for its first year.

Following the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Low Pay Commission was established to advise the Government about the National Minimum Wage. A consultation period ended in October 2002 and the Commission must now report to Government by the end of February 2003. Patience Seebohm examines common themes in some of the responses from mental health organisations.

Sophy Hallam (consultant) and Patience Seebohm (independent researcher) discuss what makes an entrepreneur, and Paul Grey, Ross Parker and Mark Swift (all experts by experience in mental health and enterprise) share their views on what it takes to set up and run your own business

The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has recently published a briefing paper on employment support for people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities who have mental health problems. The author of the paper, Patience Seebohm, summarises some key issues from the paper here.

It is obvious to many, but unproven to others, that community development has a positive impact on the mental health and well‐being of those who are touched by it. In our recent study, Connect and Include (Seebohm & Gilchrist, 2008), we found strong evidence that individuals, groups and communities can benefit from the community development process. Positive outcomes included greater democracy and social justice, but in this article we focus on the contribution of community development to social inclusion and the benefits to mental health.

People who experience mental distress are no less capable than the rest of the community when it comes to starting a business. In this article Patience Seebohm talks to Sue Dixon from the Laughing Buddha Bubble Incubator project and Ann Holcroft from Inspire about their work with people with mental health problems to help them develop their entrepreneurial skills, and Judy Scott adds useful advice about Working Tax Credit for those starting a business.

This article discusses the labelling and location of self‐organising community groups ‐ ‘self‐help’, ‘peer support’ and ‘service user’. It notes the increasingly close relationship between these groups and statutory authorities, and how this relationship may put the benefits of the groups at risk. Historical, cultural and social factors are discussed to help explain differences and separate developments within African, Caribbean and other Black communities.

This article describes how an ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ approach was used in south London to enhance the levels of choice that older adults with dementia or mental health problems and their carers have in relation to the care and support they receive.

This paper describes some findings from an evaluation of the effectiveness of a community development project that aimed to overcome inequalities in mental health care experienced by members of the local black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. A participatory action research design was used, involving people from BME communities who had experienced mental health problems and external stakeholders. The study relied largely on qualitative methodology. Findings reported here indicate that participants in the project valued the culturally and spiritually relevant support they received, but felt that more opportunities were needed for training and employment, greater representation on the project's management committee, and greater awareness of the project in the community. External stakeholders felt that the project gained credibility from its community base and valued its ability to work across faith traditions and cultures. It was also seen as successful in acting as a bridge between the communities and statutory services, although there were concerns about the project's relationship with frontline services. The paper proposes two models of community development that primary care trusts may wish to adopt ‐ radical or consensus, or a mixture of both ‐ in order to address inequalities in mental health service provision.