To mark World Mental Health Day Sarah Day leads in a hard-hitting conversation with Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum member, David Lee as well as Joshua Beynon. Delving into their experiences of seeking support and offering their opinion on whether mental health services are where they need to be today. Host Sarah Day, Chief Executive of Practice Solutions   Guest David Lee and Joshua Beynon   David Lee- I have been a service user across South Wales since my early teens, and sadly, not all of my experiences have been positive. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition in October 2021 after 36 years of knowing something wasn’t quite right. My aim is to utilise my unique perspective on the world, my extensive expertise within my lived experience and my passion for neurodevelopment to influence positive change for services and attitudes across the country.   Joshua Beynon- Elected as the youngest County Councillor in Wales in 2017, I have been involved in communities, policy and local government services for 5 years leading on a service review in waste and leading the councils journey towards being a Net Zero carbon local authority by 2030. As part of my passion for public service, I have put my energy into community work and capacity building and I am the secretary of the award winning charity, the VC Gallery, helping to establish a support network and system for veterans. This is alongside leading a successful inclusion project of £100,000 to improve a park in Pembrokeshire from project inception to delivery. How policy and strategy relates to service users is vital to community success and wellbeing.

To mark International Women’s Day 2022, four women leaders working in the fields of social care and career development discuss overcoming judgement, how women can empower each other through mutual support, and the incredible contribution that women make in the social care sector in highly challenging circumstances.     Host Sarah Day, Chief Executive of Practice Solutions   Guests Alison Bulman, Head of Social Services in Powys and President of ADSS Cymru Alison Bulman was educated in Swansea and began work as a teenager in a local care home. She has developed her wide-ranging industry knowledge through 30 years’ experience in social care, including service Director roles in Buckinghamshire and Cornwall. She started as Director of Powys County Council Social Services in May 2018, adding Workforce and Organisational Development to her responsibilities in November 2020.  She has been described as  ‘very much a people-person and highly focussed on delivering results ‘with’ people as opposed ‘to’ people… Ali’s comprehensive knowledge of Social Care is a huge asset, but she is always willing to listen to alternative ideas as well as decide and direct [when necessary]’.   Aimee Bateman, Award-winning Founder/CEO Aimee is a globally recognised tech entrepreneur, speaker and careers champion. Having worked in the career development space for 20 years, Aimee also founded the award-winning learning platform Careercake. Raising significant venture funding across 2 continents, her inspirational careers content has supported people and organisations in over 42 countries and was voted the No.1 ‘Employability Advice Website’ at the National Online Recruitment Awards. In addition, Aimee’s LinkedIn Learning courses have been completed by over 2.5 million professionals globally and she has written careers articles for national publications including The Guardian, Grazia, Stylist and Women’s Weekly, as well as holding her own monthly careers column ‘Ask Aimee’ in Accounting Technician magazine. In her spare time, Aimee is a passionate advocate for underrepresented professionals. She is a Regional Advisor for the Female Founders Forum and having spent the majority of her teenage years living in foster homes, Aimee is an active ambassador and mentor for both The Prince’s Trust and Voices in Care, regularly speaking at national conferences and mentoring young people who are living within the care system. Instagram @Aimee_Bateman Twitter @Aimee_Bateman LinkedIn /AimeeBateman   Rejnider Mandair, Senior Social Worker at London Borough of Camden Rejbinder trained as a social worker whilst living with Practice Solutions’ Chief Executive, Sarah Day, where they supported each other as Sarah brought up her young family and Rejbinder worked towards achieving her career ambitions. Rejbinder now lives and works in London, supporting people with disabilities.   Follow us and say hello #joiningthedotspod Our website: practicesolutions-ltd.co.uk Twitter: @Pracsolutions Facebook: PracSolutions LinkedIn: PracSolutions