During my short time as an intern at Devon Community Foundation, I had the privilege of visiting a variety of organisations in the sector of mental health. As a current psychology student at the University of Exeter, I understand the importance of mental health, and the rate at which it is becoming a larger issue within society. I have enjoyed learning about more clinical practices within the realm of psychology, and so being able to visit organisations within this sector was something I was looking forward to. Over the past week of my internship, I have visited three different organisations that DCF fund under a suicide prevention programme. These include:
As part of the Pathways Programme at the University of Exeter, which involves sector-specific training and an internship, I was given the role of Communications and Research Assistant at DCF. This has required me to help boost their communications around the work they support with young people in Devon. This internship has given me the chance to be creative, which is something I enjoy doing on a day-to-day basis. Whilst I have a lot of experience in academic writing (not my favourite, I’ll be honest!), writing blog content was not something I had much experience in. However, I have enjoyed being challenged, and feel like I have come away with a new skill that I’m sure will come in useful again!
Visiting these organisations and learning more about the work that they do has provided me with a greater insight into not only the mental health sector, but also the charity and development sector. My time at DCF and these organisations has highlighted to me one important thing – the importance of community.
Community to me is about collectively coming together, working as a team to take on responsibilities and sharing similar interests. This has been shown throughout the organisations I visited, and DCF itself. In my studies, I rarely learn about communities and the input they can have on an individual’s mental health. It’s been a real contrast learning about the role a community has in supporting an individual, particularly in these three organisations. Bounce, Sound Communities and Esteem Team all focus on improving the lives of children and young people, but use their work to express the importance of community too. This has been really eye-opening to me, and will be something I carry into my final year of studies when looking at mental health.
The importance of community has also been highlighted to me within DCF and the work they do. Over my time working for DCF, I had the chance to sit in on some meetings and learn more about the organisation. This included sitting in on a grants panel. A grants panel involves a group of individuals from the organisation coming together to vote on applications for grants. It was safe to say that it wasn’t as serious as I thought – there were some laughs and slight diversions from the current topic, but this didn’t stop the task being completed! This atmosphere was also carried over into the office. I really enjoyed being able to come and work in the office; it’s just not the same working in my university bedroom! When I first came into the office, I only met two people. Today I sit here writing this having been in an office with just shy of 15 people. The community feel is definitely at the heart of the organisation, and again has highlighted the value of community in the workplace.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being an intern at DCF over the past week and am looking forward to taking what I have learnt forward into future studies and work. Make sure to keep an eye out for the upcoming blogposts I have written on the organisations I visited and the work they have done!
Emily Burr
