Black and minority ethnic services

We have a flexible approach to developing and delivering services so that they meet local needs. We currently have a number of BME specific services including:

• Birmingham Community Development Service
• Gravesend BME Carers' Service, Asian Mental Health Helpline, and the Sahayak Befriending/Information and Support Service, and focus groups targeting the Asian community in Gravesend, Kent

• Dudley BME Support Service, West Midlands

BME support groups

Many of our services facilitate BME support groups, such as: 

• Ealing Carers' Support Service
• Bristol Community Support Services

Many of our mainstream services have BME specific workers who can provide bi-lingual mental health or carers’ support services.

To support our staff we have national access to Language Line which offers translation and interpreting in up to 150 languages and a staff website with specific race equality and diversity information and developments in the mental health field. We also facilitate a BME Staff Network and a staff mentoring scheme.

All our services are striving to develop cultural capability which includes action plans for improving access, outcomes and satisfaction levels.

We also publish publications on mental health and BME groups including Moving Forward (314 kb)  specifically for black and minority ethnic communities, and the Oppressed Voices report (906 kb)  which looks at the impact of domestic violence in the South Asian Community in North West Kent.