António Ferreira: Mental health activism rooted in lived experience

Thea Joshi is joined by award-winning mental health activist and anti-racism campaigner António Ferreira. From providing guidance for an Eastenders storyline about a young Black man with schizophrenia, to his campaign to end tokenism in the charity sector, António is a force of nature in using his own lived experience to drive real change in mental health. They discuss António’s journey, how his experience of peer support during his time on an inpatient ward stoked a fire in him to study psychology and work to improve things for people living with a mental illness. António shares what he’s learned from his campaign around tokenism in mental health charities and what meaningful participation would really look like. He also speaks about a new campaign he’s launching about improving the way the police respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.