New anti-racist funding

West Sussex Mind has been successful in its bid for funding from national Mind to help us better understand and serve the needs of local racialised communities. The first part of this work involves gaining greater understanding about the barriers faced by racialised communities in accessing our mental health services.

We recognise that racialised communities are currently under-represented among people who get support with us (vs the census data for West Sussex) and we are keen to adapt our offer to better to meet the needs of racialised communities.

The funding for this new initiative will allow us to:

• Make connections with existing faith and community groups
• Recruit experts by experience to run focus groups with members of these community organisations
• Hold a workshop from an expert by experience trainer to explore the steps we need to take to make a pledge to become an anti-racist organisation
• Finish the project by making a pledge to become an anti-racist organisation with all our staff, volunteers and trustees feeling equipped for the start of this journey.

AJ, our communities and inclusion manager, will be at the heart of the project, along with members of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion co-production panel.

AJ said: “This funding is an exciting first step on our journey towards becoming an anti-racist organisation. We know that experience of racism can make people more likely to develop mental health problems and that there are health inequalities in terms of access to mental health support for racialised communities.

“We want our support to be truly inclusive and open to everyone, so it’s fundamental that we understand barriers for racialised communities to help us adapt what we offer. I feel proud to be at the forefront of this change at West Sussex Mind.”