‘Right, Said Fred’

Abstract

‘As soon as I moved into my new house, I wanted to paint something, to put my signature on the walls, to make it my own.’ Most of us feel a bit like this, and we like to stake our claim on a house, take some ownership, get a sense of power over our space. When we can't do this we are guests in someone else's property, obliged forever to keep our shoes off the furniture. Lots of mental health projects believe in empowering users and they believe that the people who live in the hostel, attend the day centre or work in the employment project have a right to a stake in the place. But who picks up the paintbrush and who drills holes in the walls for new shelving? Finding a path through the rolls of wallpaper, the regulations and responsibilities leads to empowerment ‐ it is one of the keys to power.

Citation

Bates, P. (1999), "‘Right, Said Fred’", A Life in the Day, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 18-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/13666282199900015