Mental Health Community Development Workers
MISSION:
To work in partnership with statutory providers, voluntary sector organisations, faith groups and BME communities in order to address the inequalities in mental health service experience and outcomes.
We have a small, but dedicated team of Community Development Workers (CDW’s) specialising in mental health who:
- Challenge mental health services and strategic planners to provide more appropriate care, improved experiences and outcomes for the BME community.
- Provide capacity building to BME community organisations.
- Encourage BME community involvement in strategic planning.
- Deliver training in mental health awareness and cultural competency to both the BME community and statutory sector providers.
- Facilitate local and national campaigns to raise awareness of mental health issues that impact BME communities.
Things we have achieved so far include:
- The formation of the BME Wellness Centre; offering a variety of wellbeing related services
- Mind the Gap report; research looking into Croydon’s mental health service provision
- The Shopping Bus; providing a much needed door to door service for BME over 60’s
- ‘Change the Method, Change the Outcome’; BME Mental Health Conference
What is the Croydon BME Mental Health Community Development Workers Project?
The Community Development Worker’s (CDW’s)Service works with Black Minority Ethnic (BME) service users, local voluntary and statutory organisations who provide services to BME individuals.
CDW’s are a link between providers and service users. They are actively involved in a number of strategic committees to ensure equality and diversity issues are included in service planning, development, commissioning and delivery.
The CDW project is run in partnership between Croydon BME Forum, Off the Record.
Four project workers cover specific age ranges.
These are: 0 – 35 based at Off the Record and 25 – 65+ based at Croydon BME Forum.
Objectives:
- Empower BME communities to play a key role in the strategic development of culturally appropriate and responsive services
- Identify barriers to accessing mental health services; to improve and develop effective care pathways in community and statutory services
- Raise mental health awareness through the promotion of social inclusion and positive well being
- Challenge the stigma of BME mental health amongst statutory, voluntary and community sectors
- Act as a resource and supportive link between BME communities and mental health services
- Compile evidence-based needs assessments with BME communities to identify gaps in service provision
How services are delivered
Services are delivered through a number of activities, these include:
- Community involvement in strategic planning
- Facilitation of consultations and focus groups
- National and local campaigns to raise awareness of mental health issues and promote well being.
- Capacity building – within community based organisations
- Training – to individual groups and statutory partners
- Involvement in equality impact assessments
This Service is Funded by ICB and delivered by a partnership between Croydon BME Forum and Off the Record.ICB