A brief guide to participation at Gateway

how people are involved in practice & process

Gateway is a peer and member-led community development project but what does this mean in
practice for people in Gateway?

There are a wide range of ways for people to be actively involved in their project if they choose to be
and this is what Gateway means by the commitment to the project being member-led. Being actively
involved can mean:

 taking part in planning and decision making processes in the project through monthly
members’ meetings and chairing a meeting from time to time
 getting involved and taking leadership through collaborative group projects on areas of interest
/ concern
 taking part in annual planning group work for the year ahead and voting on priorities
 giving feedback on courses, activities and events through review sessions and evaluations
during the year
 participating in workshops to guide and shape the development of Gateway for its future
success
 facilitating a group, a course or a member hour
 planning and organising events
 hosting a community meet up
 volunteering
 providing peer support - a listening ear to other members not advice giving
 joining Gateway’s Management Committee and participating in the overall management and
governance of Gateway (following open elections in drop in)

Formal participation structures

Members’ Monthly Meeting:
Agenda: People encouraged to add items to the agenda on the noticeboard in advance of the monthly
meeting so that issues of interest/concern / points of information are discussed by the wider group.
Member Meeting: Decision making is consensus based or majority vote if no consensus acheived.
Meetings are chaired by a member, the chair is open and rotated and members invited to chair
meetings by group text and at preparatory meetings on the Friday before if nobody comes forward in
response to the text. The Chairperson is supported with a preparation meeting where the agenda is
reviewed and chairing skills refreshed as needed.
Participation in the meeting is voluntary and open to all members of gateway and workers (mostly
former members) to attend, get their voices heard and input into decision making and project planning.

Gateway’s Management Committee:

3 members of Gateway participate on this voluntary committee which has management, governance
and oversight function for Gateway. The Project Co-ordinator reports to the MC and is line managed
by its Chairperson and Mental Health Ireland.
Members of Gateway are elected onto this structure when a position becomes vacant from within the
project. The process is democratic and open elections take place during a drop in. A series of
information sessions take place before elections where people interested can self nominate. Elections
take place by secret ballot during a drop in and results are published in Gateway. Training and support
as required is provided to all Management Committee members to enable people to participate in an
informed and meaningful way.

Important Conversations Group

Monthly discussion group which explores issues of interest and concern for individuals and the group
as a whole. Topics are brainstormed with members in advance and discussed at these meetings. This
forum has potential to identify, inform and progress key actions for Gateway Project and works to
build a collective voice and platform for advocacy and collective action.
Group Processes – nothing about us, without us

 Group evaluations and reviews relating to courses, workshops, events and project development
overall. This will include development of a new strategic plan for Gateway with members, key
stakeholders and funders in 2019-2020.
 Group planning sessions with members to plan activities for Gateway which includes
invitations to speakers and outside organisations, regular activities and others.
 Group projects eg Gateway Research, Mobile Gateway (outreach project), Upgrading Gateway
Group - to renovate facilities, World Mental Health Day planning groups…
 Ongoing member-led groups: newsletter group, music group, writers group, wrap café
 Ongoing feedback loops: Suggestions / Comments / Concerns Box - anonymous or named
feedback mechanism. Member Meetings. Important Conversations Group. Gateway Grievance
Policy & Processes such as Open dialogue and Mediation meetings.
 Attending different external events, conferences, meetings as a Gateway group and promoting
Gateway, its values and ethos.

Active membership- leading out and collaborating with members and current workers and trainees on
different activities, programmes and events. See the what does it mean to be peer-led information
leaflet for more detail. Examples of active participation:

 Chairing a meeting
 Leading a member hour on a topic / activity of interest
 Hosting community meet ups
 Organizing events and trips outside of Gateway
 Participating in education and training initiatives of interest
 Facilitating courses and groups such as the writers group, gardening, wrap cafe, music group,
newsletter, pool tournaments, scrabble club etc
 Participation through external fora for / with Gateway such as MH Engagement forum, MHR
grassroots forum and advocacy/ collective action such as protests, dail debates etc, MHI
conferences and events, and through other external opportunities
 Providing peer support to one another

Developing a member led and peer run project

 VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION: Ensuring that both formal and informal structures are open,
accessible and developed with members and in keeping with Gateway’s values and ethos
 NEEDS & INTERESTS BASED Ensuring opportunities for collaborative and member led
group processes including education and training that are informed by needs and interests
emerging locally that are planned and delivered through development work with members and
workers to build skills and confidence and power.
 EMPLOYMENT: actively prioritising employment pathways for members and peers through
Gateway
 POLICY: Staffing policy requires that 75% of employed staff team must have lived
experience; currently 2/4 core staff team are former gateway members and 100% of
core staff team are peers.
 TRAINING: Creating training opportunities through CE; 3 trainees from membership
on placement in 2019
 FUNDING: developing and funding a core staff team; since 2015 Gateway has
succeeded in more than tripling funding for staffing, team has grown from one core
role to having 3 full time and one part time core funded posts.
 RESEARCH: Developing an evidence base for development and promotion of the benefits of
peer initiatives like Gateway