Taking action against racism in mental health
“People from racialised communities are more likely to experience a mental health problem but less likely to receive the help they need.” – National Mind.
National Mind statistics on racism and mental health
Being there for everyone experiencing a mental health problem is fundamental to who we are at Havant and East Hants Mind. But the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on racialised communities and the anti-racism protests during 2020/21, made us recognise where we had been falling short.
Yes. We have built services, campaigned for and supported people from racialised communities. However, individual projects and good intentions will only take us so far.
The deep-rooted inequalities in society and in the mental health system are also found within the Mind network. There are so many people we do not reach. Who do not see Mind as relevant to their lives. Who we have not listened to hard enough or worked with closely enough.
To change this, we recognise that we, as an affiliated charity to Mind, need to change – in terms of who we are as an organisation, how we support the mental health of people from racialised communities and how we acknowledge and challenge racism more widely.
“The term ‘hard to reach’ is quite stigmatising and diminishing. If we’re hard to reach, it suggests we’re the problem.” – Service user
Taking action
Our ambition is to become a truly anti-racist organisation. We will be an unflinching advocate for racial justice and mental health. Our support will be engaging and effective for people from racialised communities. We will invest in building an inclusive organisational culture with diverse leaders.
Our new governance roles and senior leader roles will include responsibility to look to deliver greater racial equity in our culture, our values, our structure, our decisions, the support we provide, our partnerships, our campaigns and the way all staff approach our roles.
We will also be engaging closely with national Mind and local Minds around England and Wales who are working hard to develop the experience and expertise to transform the mental health of racialised communities.
Posted on: 7th July 2021
