An unlikely hero? Challenging stigma through community engagement

The purpose of this paper is to describe a high-profile social enterprise in Blackpool, England, called Jobs, Friends and Houses (JFH) that has created a visible social identity of recovery and meaningful activity, to assess how stigma is challenged through active and visible community engagement.

Case study based on in-depth individual interview and focus group, supplemented by participant in-depth interviews.

The paper describes one particular incident in which a worker at JFH intervened in a violent attack, possibly saving a woman’s life. The paper describes the experiences of internalised stigma and external exclusion being challenged by the development of a positive social identity and a pro-social community role that has high visibility. Data are presented showing the strong social identity experienced by participants and recognised by external stakeholders.

This is a pilot study which uses an opportunistic design and much stronger longitudinal designs will be needed to address the issues raised in the paper.

The paper argues that the visibility of the pro-social identity has been central to challenging stereotypes and discriminating attitudes and suggests that a social identity approach may be central to generating and sustaining a recovery community and to confronting and reversing long-held stigmatised attitudes.

The paper is important as it discusses the impact of recovery through engagement in meaningful activities that challenge stigma and exclusion through work. The paper is framed in terms of a social identity model of recovery.