Did you know that Gypsy and Traveller communities are three times more likely to be anxious compared to the general population and twice as likely to be depressed? These are just two of many health inequalities faced by Gypsy and Traveller people.
As part of our work to address health inequalities among minoritised communities, West Sussex Mind did some research late last year in collaboration with Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) to explore the barriers to mental health support facing Gypsy and Traveller communities in West Sussex.
Based on in-depth interviews with 18 individuals from Romany Gypsy, Irish Traveller and New Traveller communities, which were conducted by FFT, the research found that barriers to support included:
- Stigma around mental health (especially among men)
- Fear of prejudice or social services involvement when asking for support
- Literacy barriers and digital exclusion when accessing support
- Lack of cultural understanding of Gypsy and Traveller communities among healthcare professionals
- A widespread lack of support for people living in roadside camps or with no fixed address.
The goals of the research were to explore attitudes to mental health, better understand the barriers to support and find meaningful ways to improve and increase engagement of our services with Gypsy and Traveller people.
Finding a way forward
The report makes a number of recommendations to improve our charity's support, and we are looking to cascade the recommendations to the wider Sussex health community. They include:
- Assigning a single mental health worker to build relationships and trust
- Training for employees towards delivering more inclusive services to Gypsy and Traveller people
- Offering a choice of support venues (eg community venues, Traveller site/home visits, remote support) and support types (one-to-one, group or family-based)
- Offering a variety of communications options, including phone calls, voice notes and in-person visits, avoiding over-reliance on letters and digital forms.