Earlier this year we launched Living Histories, an oral history project capturing the whole life stories of service users and staff with experience of NHS mental health services in Sussex. The project collects experiences from the closure of the old asylums up to the present day, exploring the shift from institutionalisation to community care, and the radical transformation that NHS services underwent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Living Histories is made possible by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage fund, supported by NHS Charities Together, Heads On, and Sussex Partnership.
So far we have recruited and trained 15 volunteers, and recorded 35 oral histories. We are now in the process of preparing for our exhibtion which will showcase clips from the oral histories through 7 themed podcasts. We will be hosting in person and virtual exhibitions from 28th January 2026.
The oral histories in their entirety will be preserved for future generations as part of the archive at The Keep and the West Sussex Records Office.
We are currently closed to new applications to participate in the project, but watch this space for exhibition information. We would love you to come and join us.
