HBGI believes strongly that lived experience is necessary to ensure the greatest impact for as many people as possible. In order to fulfil this principle, HBGI created a Lived Experience Council.
HBGI has worked with this Council for two years and held the Council’s first in-person meeting in fall 2022 in Morocco to reflect upon those past two years and the way forward.
The report begins with letters from our CEO and Chair of the Lived Experience Council, reflecting on their lived experiences. It proceeds to outline the case for investing in mental health, defines lived experience in mental health contexts, and explains how lived experience integration at every level of an organization is necessary to achieve impact. The report continues by summarizing takeaways from that in-person meeting, as well as broader reflections on the past two years (including concrete examples of both what HBGI did well and what it has learned from). Finally, it concludes with a summary of some of the tangible impacts the Lived Experience Council has had on HBGI (including funding) and a description of the next steps for the Council going forward.
