We are saddened this week to hear of the death of Peter Campbell, a pioneering survivor activist, writer, and poet. As part of early survivor action groups and a founding member of user-led campaigning and advocacy group Survivors Speak Out in 1986, as well as the still-active Survivors’ Poetry group, Peter spent decades dedicated to collective action. He was a part of the Survivors History Group (formed in 2005), which aimed to celebrate and document the contributions of mental health service users and survivors to history. The studymore website that documents the history of the survivor movement was adopted by this group in 2007.
Peter was also part of the User Survey Steering Group behind On Our Own Terms (2003), the result of 2001-02 service user-led research coordinated by Jan Wallcraft. The report, among other recommendations, urged the formation of a national user-led network to bring groups together, encourage good practice, and to build capacity within the sector. This idea was solidified at the 2006 ‘Doing It For Ourselves’ survivor and service user conference, where a steering group was set up that went on to secure funding for the launch of NSUN.
We would like to publish a tribute on the NSUN website. Please get in touch by emailing amy.wells@nsun.org.uk if you would like to contribute something.
Asylum magazine will also be publishing a tribute in their next issue.