Iris-Nur Noor, a mental health peer coach in the Camden & Islington Trust who identifies as a trans Asian woman and believes in the potential of peer support to change lives.
She shares insight into her own challenges as a trans woman of colour and how her journey has taken her from a background in fine art into education and then into peer support:
"When I was growing up in the 80's there was no such thing as peer support or coaching... in hindsight it would have had a huge impact on my mental health, confidence and growth as a trans woman of colour.
Mental health language isn't always accessible to people in the community... Peer support gives people a space to talk about challenges, fears, breakthroughs, desired outcomes, and to learn from the lived experience of others. Getting different viewpoints helps to deconstruct the core belief of the challenge people are struggling with."