The Gatehouse Logo

Lived Experience Advisory Forum (LEAF)

The Lived Experience Advisory Forum (LEAF) is a well-established and independent group run by and for people from all different backgrounds. The aim of LEAF is to have voices from Experts Through Experience heard to improve service delivery and better outcomes for all (services and people who use them) across Oxfordshire and nationally, whilst also offering forum members new opportunities, connections, and room for growth.
Play video iconLEAF Lucy Monica
Lucy and Monica explain how LEAF works

Help provided by this service

LEAF aims to work holistically across different services such as housing and homelessness, education, criminal justice, health care, employment and welfare.

Members of LEAF work in partnership with services to co-produce, inform, develop and design current and future service delivery at a local and national level. LEAF believes that the voice of Experts Through Experience should always be at the centre of how services are shaped and delivered.

LEAF is facilitated by using a partnership approach between, Aspire, the Gatehouse and Oxfordshire Homeless Movement. LEAF is also generously funded by  Oxfordshire Homeless Movement 

LEAF aims to provide opportunities and training for people who may often experience barriers due to their past or current circumstances and will tailor an individual development plan to the needs and wants of the LEAF member. There are no time boundaries! Another aim of LEAF’s is to ensure that the valuable voices of everyone are at the core of the design and delivery of services that impact on people’s everyday lives

LEAF benefits from being diverse and inclusive and welcomes everyone from all walks of life. LEAF is a safe place to use your experiences to influence positive systemic change.

Information about LEAF activities plus co-produced reports and findings and much more can be found on our LEAF Activities page.
LEAF Partners

Positive impacts of this service

LEAF has supported all forum members building on their own goals in life with new skills to add to their CVs – one forum member has achieved their goal of being in full time work.

All of LEAF’s forum members have noticed an improvement in their overall wellbeing.

In 2023 a total of 263 LEAF members with lived experience took part in projects involving 35 co-production partners, and the number and range of projects is continuing to increase in 2024. See the LEAF Activities page for more details of some of the recent and completed projects.

Testimonials by LEAF members

“You are not alone when you are part of LEAF and you can get you voice heard”
“LEAF is a positive place to be listening, sharing and making a difference”
“LEAF is a place where we can start bringing positive change from our lived experience”
“All those years on the street can be turned into something positive to help others because we know what it’s like and express it to those who have not lived it”

Co-production partner feedback

“I can't emphasise enough how important the involvement of LEAF is in this process - you are one of the few areas to be doing "genuine" involvement of lived experience in service development... This is very rare when you look at the other areas... ”

Dr Michelle Cornes, Senior Research Fellow, Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King's College London

Read more in our 2023 Co-production feedback report