On Monday, press releases which were issued to 11 news outlets in advance are being released to the general public, letting the Discovery College cat out of the metaphorical bag.
It's fair to say I'm a little nervous, but at the core of this announcement I've placed something concrete, sturdy and inarguable:
Back in April, I advertised for two young people from the Oxford University Micro-Internship Scheme to work with me on a short project. I wanted them to explore all things youth mental health; national statistics and trends, best practice and government guidance, local provision and coverage and lastly, where (or if) a Discovery College might fit into all of this.
The wonderful Oxfordshire Youth agreed to host the interns in their office for the week, and I met the equally wonderful Isaac and Joanna on their first day to brief them.
Rumour has it that these fantastic humans pulled all-nighters to not only pull together a rough and ready report, but to create something thorough, robust, informative and pretty slickly presented, in only 5 days.
This report is what I've placed at the centre of Monday's announcement - I'm letting everyone know that we intend to build this new service, that Elmore will be helping us to do it, and that we've really done our homework as to the need and relevance. I'm immensely proud of what Isaac and Joanna produced, and feel that we've taken their findings on board in our planning since April.
Part of the reason for doing a public 'launch' of this news is to help recruit people to participate in a working group to further drive development forward. This has meant that a lot of my time recently has been focused on comms; I've built and populated a website, bought domain names and email accounts, set up social media channels, and run a particular Designer friend ragged (more on him next time). All of this, really, in the hope that some people with real lived experience might come forward to lend me their expertise and perspectives while we co-create and co-design.
So lastly, what exactly is my survival plan? Over the last week I've definitely been feeling my anxiety in my body - poor sleep, grinding my teeth at night, heart palpitations. This is why consciously considering how I look after myself through these pinch points is an essential. It's not all in the preparation, although that's been pretty substantial! We in the field also know that aftercare can't afford to become an afterthought...
Therefore next week is full of good things; meeting with the life-affirming OWLs Action Learning set, dinner with my partner, a 10 mile hike at the end of the week, and some social time with friends over the weekend. This project demands that I care for myself as much as I nurture it, and I'll certainly do my best to continue to honour that.
"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare" - Audre Lord
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