Tackling isolation through peer support: Watch CIO's story

Watch CIO was awarded a £5,000 grant from the Somerset Wellbeing Fund to help run weekly peer-support sessions for isolated people living in Chard.

Julie Matthews, Founder and CEO of Watch CIO, understands first-hand the power of peer support for mental health. When she lost her business in the last recession it was support from her peers that helped her get through.  

“We’d just lost everything. I was looking for support but feel I just got lost in the mental health system. At the time there was a lot of day centres you could go to. But I felt like they were places where people could become stuck,” she says.

“Then I discovered intentional peer support. I knew what it was like to have the stigma of mental health problems, having suffered with clinical depression. It’s too easy to believe no one else understands. But I learned about mutual peer support and you soon realise that someone else with lived experience has understanding that helps you to focus on recovery and your strengths together.”

Engaging isolated people

The seeds of Watch CIO were planted in 2007 when Julie and others helped form an intentional peer support group in NHS mental health services.

“Then we realised that it’s not just people using the services that have mental health problems. There are young parents, older people, disabled people, homeless people, LGBTQ+ people and migrants. So that’s when we expanded to become Watch CIO in 2010,” she adds.

Watch CIO reaches out and engages isolated adults in the Chard area through different activities. These include a weekly peer support project for 40 people hosted at Chard Rugby Club. Lived experience facilitators and volunteers lead the sessions, creating spaces where people can gain confidence, forge friendships and build resilience. The charity also delivers various training and activities to help engagement right across Somerset – especially for people who have social anxiety.

Growing together

Julie says there have been many success stories. Like people who got vital support while they were waiting to access antidepressant drugs. Or others who’ve been directed to nature projects designed to reduce stress.

Julie herself was honoured for her work when she received the British Empire Medal in 2025 from the Lord-Lieutenant in recognition of her services to mental health in Somerset.

“In intentional peer support we’re not fixing each other,” she says.

“It’s about creating a supportive environment where people can grow and make their own choices. It’s showing people who feel isolated that there is hope and support out there.”

“The overall intention at Watch CIO is to redefine help as a process of co-learning and growing, where individuals come together and make sense of their experiences from new perspectives.”

Photo caption: Molly and Jay pictured during a Watch CIO team day at Magdalen Farm.