Celebrating Gracie’s NLEA Hope and Positivity Award

We’re incredibly proud to announce that Gracie, who is part of CFHD’s Experts by Experience group, has won the The National Lived Experience Awards (NLEA) Hope and Positivity Award 2026.

The National Lived Experience Awards recognise the meaningful contributions people with lived experience are making to improve mental health services across the country. Gracie’s award celebrates a two-year project developed alongside the South West Provider Collaborative, creating Distress Management booklets for young people in inpatient settings.

The project grew from Gracie’s own experiences of inpatient care and her passion for helping young people develop confidence in self-soothing and emotional regulation, while supporting a shift towards de-escalation and reducing restrictive practice.

At CFHD, our Participation Team were proud to support Gracie to share her voice and turn her ideas into action. What began as a drawing created while Gracie was in hospital has grown into a resource being shared across the South West, demonstrating the powerful impact of listening to and acting on young people’s lived experience.

Reflecting on her award, Gracie said: “I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to speak and to share the project nationally, helping create change and move forward in the services is hard but rewarding and I’m thankful for everyone who’s supporting that journey with me!”

Congratulations, Gracie! We’re so proud to see how your voice, ideas and determination continue to contribute to positive change in services for young people.

If you would like to read Gracie’s original Experts by Experience blog, CLICK HERE