Participant welfare

Latest revision as of 13:16, 27 March 2026

Head of Participant Welfare: Kerrie Hill

Participant Welfare

The team is here to help any participant that is struggling practically or emotionally over the weekend and need some support so they can get back to enjoying the event.
Volunteers have experience and training in Mental health support, supervised by a qualified mental health professional
Available from 18:00 on Thursday until 16:00 on Sunday during events
You can ask any PD crew member with a radio or at GOD to get in contact with them
The team only shares information with consent, or if there is a legal requirement to do so
We aim to give people a safe space to move through any distress, be empowered to make their own decisions, and signpost to other support if required
The team does not give counselling, tell you what to do, give medical advice, or provide support between events

The Participant Welfare team is here to help any participant (player, crew member, trader) who is struggling practically or emotionally over the weekend and feels that they would benefit from some short-term support to help them get back to enjoying the event. Empire is a busy, exciting event with lots happening at once. Often this is the fun part of the event, but sometimes this can become overwhelming. It might just be that you have a practical problem that you need some support with. If at any point, you’re feeling stuck, anxious, distressed, and feel like you need additional support to be able to cope, please don’t hesitate to ask someone to direct you to a member of Profound Decisions crew for help. A member of crew may be able to support you directly or may contact the Participant Welfare team for assistance.

The Participant Welfare team are all volunteers giving our free time to support others during the event, all team members have experience in mental health support and either have or are working towards qualifications in mental health. All team members are supervised by a qualified mental health professional.

Contacting Participant Welfare

Contact any member of PD crew with a radio and tell them you would like to talk to someone from Participant Welfare. Crew members with radios can be found at GOD, the Hub, the Tavern, and ref spaces. Egregores and other members of crew also hold radios. You should not come to Participant Welfare tents directly. There may not be anyone available to help you, and we want to maintain privacy for everyone using these tents.

When the Participant Welfare Team is contacted:
We will ask you to meet us in an easy-to-find location, for example, ‘outside GOD’.
We will then either chat with you there or take you to a private tent in the out-of-character area.
We will have a chat with you about what your difficulties are and what support you feel might be helpful.

Conversations and Information

Conversations are treated as confidential and shared only within the Participant Welfare team; with Profound Decisions management when required for duty of care; with others only if you give permission, unless there is a legal or ethical reason to report risk.

The Participant Welfare team has a responsibility to act and share information if they believe someone is at risk. This includes: reporting concerns about a child or vulnerable adult to management; reporting missing children to security; alerting first aid and/or security if there appears to be at-risk of serious harm. The Participant Welfare team works closely with the Conduct team and may encourage participants who report conduct breaches to make a formal complaint.

What Participant Welfare Aims to Do

We will work with you to: help you move through immediate distress; support you in identifying resources and options that meet your needs; help you return to enjoying the event as quickly and smoothly as possible; and give you information and signposting where required.

If you decide you need to leave the event, we can also coordinate with other teams to support you in organising how you can do this safely.

What Participant Welfare Doesn’t Do

Act as a counselling service
Tell you what to do in-character or out-of-character
Give medical advice
Support participants between events

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact us at participant.welfare@profounddecisions.co.uk, but please be aware that this email is only monitored once a week.

If you are in crisis or need urgent support, please call 999. If you need mental health support, please visit your GP or call NHS 111 option 2.

Where to Get Help and Information for Mental Health

Profound Decisions is not affiliated with the sites below and has no control over the content on these sites.

NHS webpage with advice and links to services for mental health support in a crisis [https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/

MIND web page with links and phone numbers for mental health helplines. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/seeking-help-for-a-mental-health-problem/mental-health-helplines/

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==The Welfare Team==
+[[Category:The Game]]
-* '''John Newton is the head of participant welfare at Empire'''
+[[Category:Events]]
-* '''A member of the team is available on request throughout the day'''
+{{CaptionedImage|file=Kerrie.jpg|align=left|caption=Head of Participant Welfare: Kerrie Hill}}
-Empire is a busy and exciting event, with lots of activity and situations that you may find unexpected or challenging. Some people, including those with ongoing mental health issues, may find themselves feeling overwhelmed, anxious or distressed.
+==Participant Welfare==
-{{CaptionedImage|file=John.jpg|align=right|caption=Head of Participant Welfare: John Newton}}
+* '''The team is here to help any participant that is struggling practically or emotionally over the weekend and need some support so they can get back to enjoying the event.
-{{CaptionedImage|file=Kerrie.jpg|align=right|caption=Participant Welfare: Kerrie Hill}}
+* '''Volunteers have experience and training in Mental health support, supervised by a qualified mental health professional
-If this happens to you, and you feel unable to cope, then please ask someone to help you find a member of our crew. As many of our crew are skilled at supporting others, the crew member you find may be able to help you themselves. If the first member of our crew you speak to cannot help you with your needs, they can contact the participant welfare team for assistance.
+* '''Available from 18:00 on Thursday until 16:00 on Sunday during events
+* '''You can ask any PD crew member with a radio or at GOD to get in contact with them
+* '''The team only shares information with consent, or if there is a legal requirement to do so
+* '''We aim to give people a safe space to move through any distress, be empowered to make their own decisions, and signpost to other support if required
+* '''The team does not give counselling, tell you what to do, give medical advice, or provide support between events
-Our participant welfare team are a volunteer team that have experience or qualifications in psychotherapy, counselling and support. The team exists to help event participants who are unable to enjoy the event due to mental health issues or emotional distress.
+The Participant Welfare team is here to help any participant (player, crew member, trader) who is struggling practically or emotionally over the weekend and feels that they would benefit from some short-term support to help them get back to enjoying the event. Empire is a busy, exciting event with lots happening at once. Often this is the fun part of the event, but sometimes this can become overwhelming.  It might just be that you have a practical problem that you need some support with. If at any point, you’re feeling stuck, anxious, distressed, and feel like you need additional support to be able to cope, please don’t hesitate to ask someone to direct you to a member of Profound Decisions crew for help. A member of crew may be able to support you directly or may contact the Participant Welfare team for assistance.
-When the participant welfare team get a radio call, a member of that team will come to wherever you are. They also have access to a private tent, in the OOC area, which they can take you to if that would be more helpful. Any conversation you have with a member of the participant welfare team may be regarded as confidential, shared only within the welfare team and with the [[Profound Decisions management team]] where required for duty of care. Information will only be shared with additional people with your permission, or where we are legally or ethically obliged to do so, for instance due to risk to yourself or another person.
+The Participant Welfare team are all volunteers giving our free time to support others during the event, all team members have experience in mental health support and either have or are working towards qualifications in mental health. All team members are supervised by a qualified mental health professional.
-If a member of the participant welfare team receives information that leads them to believe that a child or vulnerable adult is being neglected, abused or at risk of harm, then this will be reported to a member of the management team. Information about a missing child will be reported to the security team. Information about any participant who is at risk of serious harm will be reported to first aid and/or security, as appropriate. If anyone informs the participant welfare team that they have experienced behaviour that breaches our [[conduct]] rules, then they will be gently encouraged to make a report to the conduct team. If they do not wish to make an official complaint, then the participant welfare team may make an anonymous report on their behalf.
+==Contacting Participant Welfare==
+Contact any member of PD crew with a radio and tell them you would like to talk to someone from Participant Welfare. Crew members with radios can be found at GOD, the Hub, the Tavern, and ref spaces.  Egregores and other members of crew also hold radios. <u>'''You should not</u> come to Participant Welfare tents directly'''. There may not be anyone available to help you, and we want to maintain privacy for everyone using these tents.
-Although members of the participant welfare team are qualified in counselling and psychotherapy, their role at Empire does not aim to be therapeutic. You are not their client or patient. Their conversation with you will be closer to that of a crisis helpline volunteer or a good friend than that of a professional counsellor or psychotherapist.
+'''<big>When the Participant Welfare Team is contacted:</big>'''<br>
+We will ask you to meet us in an easy-to-find location, for example, ‘outside GOD’.<br>
+We will then either chat with you there or take you to a private tent in the out-of-character area.  <br>
+We will have a chat with you about what your difficulties are and what support you feel might be helpful. <br>
-The participant welfare team aims to assist you to move through any distress you may be experiencing, and to help you access resources that you can use to solve your problems and meet your needs. Their goal is for you to feel able to go back to enjoying the event again, quickly and smoothly. If that is not possible, and you need to go home, then they can call other teams to assist you in leaving the site.
+===Conversations and Information===
+Conversations are treated as confidential and shared only within the Participant Welfare team; with Profound Decisions management when required for duty of care; with others only if you give permission, unless there is a legal or ethical reason to report risk.
+The Participant Welfare team has a responsibility to act and share information if they believe someone is at risk. This includes: reporting concerns about a child or vulnerable adult to management; reporting missing children to security; alerting first aid and/or security if there appears to be at-risk of serious harm. The Participant Welfare team works closely with the [[Conduct]] team and may encourage participants who report conduct breaches to make a formal complaint.
+===What Participant Welfare Aims to Do===
+We will work with you to: help you move through immediate distress; support you in identifying resources and options that meet your needs; help you return to enjoying the event as quickly and smoothly as possible; and give you information and signposting where required.
+If you decide you need to leave the event, we can also coordinate with other teams to support you in organising how you can do this safely.
+===What Participant Welfare Doesn’t Do===
+*'''Act as a counselling service
+*'''Tell you what to do in-character or out-of-character
+*'''Give medical advice
+*'''Support participants between events
+If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact us at [mailto:participant.welfare@profounddecisions.co.uk participant.welfare@profounddecisions.co.uk], but please be aware that this email is only monitored once a week.
+If you are in crisis or need urgent support, please call 999.  If you need mental health support, please visit your GP or call NHS 111 option 2.
+==Where to Get Help and Information for Mental Health==
+Profound Decisions is not affiliated with the sites below and has no control over the content on these sites.
+NHS webpage with advice and links to services for mental health support in a crisis [https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/
+MIND web page with links and phone numbers for mental health helplines.
+https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/seeking-help-for-a-mental-health-problem/mental-health-helplines/

Participant welfare

Latest revision as of 13:16, 27 March 2026

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