Champions of mental health event - A Night to Remember! 24/10/2024

A Powerful Evening of Discussions, Action and Empowerment.

by Pauline Zepherin.

Champions of Mental Health: A Night to Remember! 

What an incredible night we had at the Champions of Mental Health Event on Thursday, October 24th!  A heartfelt thank you to every one of our guests who showed up with passion and commitment to advance Black Mental Health in Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F). This was no ordinary gathering - it was a powerhouse filled with an inspiring group of Community Leaders, dedicated grassroots organisations, NHS and Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) health officials, mental health professionals, community champions and young people, all united under one mission: driving positive mental health outcomes for our Black communities.   First, a heartfelt thank you to our generous partners, White City Place, for providing the Studio at Westworks on a complimentary basis, empowering us to host impactful community engagement events.

Event Goals 

This event had three key goals, and we were thrilled to make strides on each: 

• Celebrate Local Initiatives 

• Launching the Black Health Panel (BHP) 

• Develop Local Service Mapping 

Warm welcome from Kes Mark: Setting the Stage 

Our host, Kes Mark from ASÉ and Chair of the Building Trust: Implementation Subgroup (ISG), kicked off the evening. He provided an engaging introduction to the Building Trust: Tackling Inequalities and Discrimination initiative, which has been a journey of listening, learning, and leading change. 

PHASE 1: Listening Events 

The Building Trust Project has come a long way, 20th October marked the one-year anniversary. A significant milestone of events that have gathered key insights and personal stories.  The Listening Events have been both eye-opening and inspiring revealing challenges while honouring the journeys of H&F’s black community’s eye watering experience of discrimination within the NHS service and also acknowledging exceptional work of dedicated healthcare professionals, and the support from NHS, H&F Leads and Community Partners to foster trust, promote equity, and work toward real health improvements. 

PHASE 2: The Implementation Subgroup (ISG) Following Phase 1, the Implementation Subgroup was formed to bring to the forefront and action the community voice, by focusing on three key priorities that emerged during the listening events. These priorities will serve as the backbone for achieving impactful change, as we continue working alongside residents and Community Partners to build a healthier, more equitable future for all. 

Key Priorities

1. Mental Health 

2. The Black Health Panel (Citizens Panel) 

3. Maternity and Prostate Cancer Initiatives 

These priorities are crucial for promoting health awareness, addressing and reducing health disparities within the NHS faced by the Black community, to create a transparent, listening environment, that is culturally informed and provides a trusted healing service that truly meets the needs of the black community. With the powerful collaborative spirit in the room, we feel confident that these initiatives will spark real change. 

Spotlight on Local Community Leader Debbie Best  

A powerful moment of the evening was the conversation with Debbie Best, Founder of Together Unity and a respected H&F community mental health lead. Debbie works closely with the Patient Care Race Equity Framework (PCREF) as a Lead, actively supporting initiatives such as the Black Mental Health Manifesto to spotlight critical issues in Black mental health. Debbie is also a colleague on the Implementation Subgroup. With her deep knowledge and personal experience, Debbie highlighted the devastating impacts of racism, chronic stress, and trauma on the brain, sharing staggering statistics such as the fact that Black individuals are 3.6 times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act (NHS Digital, 2024). On a more sombre note; Debbie reminded us that the state of Black Mental Health and Well-being has now escalated to pandemic levels, underscoring the urgent need for systemic change. Debbie signposted us to her personal top three recommendations for excellent mental health & well-being support in London:  The Libra Partnership Ltd, Managing Our Mental (MOM) and Naz Project. Debbie shared a heartfelt insight: Her number one dream - A comprehensive service that fully meets the needs of black males, families and individuals facing mental health challenges - does not yet exist. 

The Black Health Panel Launch  

We were thrilled to introduce the Black Health Panel (BHP), a new advisory body platform. Consisting of panel members with a combination of medical expertise and residents with lived experience, with the clear intention to elevate black health concerns. The BHP will be a connecting body that engages with wider community to inform NHS and H&F Leads of emerging black health concerns, keeping our community’s voices to the forefront. Utilizing the vast wealth of knowledge, skills and lived experience in the room, we began co-producing a framework for how the panel will operate to best serve the community, partnering with NHS and H&F Leads to drive positive health outcomes and improve the NHS. Attendees were hands-on with three critical questions: 

Q1: The Black Health Panel should raise awareness in...? 

Q2: Black Health Panel should offer the community...? 

Q3: The Black Health Panel members should consist of…? 

The room buzzed with energy as we engaged in thought-provoking discussions and exchanged valuable insights. The feedback was powerful and clear: the Black Health Panel must evolve into a transformative platform, that empowers the community, and enhances service experiences, implementing a community-led, healing-centred approach that values cultural awareness and collaboration.  The key insights gathered will be shared with the BT: Implementation Subgroup (ISG), who will continue to co-design the BHP and finalise the recruitment process for its January 2025 launch. Meanwhile, we will invite our guests to join us for the Champions of Mental Health Event Pt II, where we’ll reconnect in December 2024 (stay tuned, date to be confirmed). 

Grants to Drive Change  

An exciting announcement from Kes highlighted new funding opportunities through the Building Trust: ISG. We’re offering several grants to break down barriers to progression and extend our reach and impact within the community, including: 

• Black Health Marketing Support Fund (2 x £500 grants)  

• Young Black Therapy Fund – to provide young black males with healing therapy to improve their mental health & wellbeing (up to £2,500) 

• Get Moving Fund (up to £2,500 - to deliver exercise activities designed to improve mental health and well-being across all generations).

  
  

Stay tuned for application details in our Newsletter, November 2024 issue and also on our social channels! 

Fun Quiz 

As the night wound down, we invited guests to take part in a fun online quiz and will Award eight £15 gift vouchers to our quick-thinking winners!  

A special thank you to our NHS Associate Director June Farquhason, who delivered an inspiring speech, acknowledging the tremendous work that had taken place in the room and reminding us of the immense power of our collective work to drive positive outcomes and improve the health and well-being of our community. 

In honour of Black History Month, we took a moment to acknowledge and applaud the everyday heroes sitting in the room who rose to a standing ovation - your dedication is the heartbeat of this mission. 

Final thoughts… 

Don’t miss out on our Building Trust e-Newsletter, where you’ll find even more updates and stories of impact. We can’t wait to see you at Champions of Mental Health Event Part II in December 2024!  Ready for More? Subscribe & Follow 

Once again, A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO ALL our Guests and Colleagues:  

• The all important H&F Community Leaders & Residents 

• Organisations: 1000 Black Boys, Family Assist, H&F Parent/Carer Champions, MIND, Nubian Life, The Insight Institute, QPR, TREM, W12 Together, Way Through, Sobus, Sanctuary for Sisterhood, Hammersmith United Charities, The Wilde Foundation. 

• NHS & LBHF Leads, Public Health Professionals & Service Providers,

  Including ASÉ Team, Building Trust: ISG Colleagues and last but not least a  Special thank you to the caterers who provided a most delicious selection of mouth-watering dishes and cupcakes. 

• White City Place.