In October it was our honour and privilege to be invited to work with Sheffield Community Forensic Team, Sheffield Flourish, SADACCA and Faithstar to support people from Black, Asian and Ethic Minority Backgrounds in their mental health and wellbeing.
This project felt daunting at first but has become a vital and empowering part of the work Space to Breathe does. We’ve realised that the key is to support other people, regardless of their background, health or experiences as human to human, realising we share our work as vulnerable people and we connect with others who’s journey to recovery is inspiring and humbling.
There is still so much stigma around serious mental health issues. The uncertainty and fear that some people feel towards the subject can lead to social isolation and long term problems. But when it comes down to basics, this relationship between a carer and someone facing a mental health challenge is a question of one human being talking to another. We find common ground, share stories and find that Space to Breathe’s approach of Wellbeing made Simple can add to both of our lives and aid recovery.
The Tackling Inequalities Project was launched as there appeared to be inequalities in access, treatment and recovery for people across the region and we were given space to innovate and partner in providing services both inside clinical settings and also in the community. Since then we’ve been able to launch three new projects which we’d like to share briefly about.
Wellbeing Zones are a series of self-care sessions designed for individuals and groups. These six sessions explore our wellbeing imaginatively and introduce subjects like Mindfulness, Stress Relief and Resilience. At time of writing we’ve been able to partner with four residential Mental Health Wards and a number of local community projects. If you’re in Sheffield and want to connect or find out more check out more details here.
Second we’ve launched our Mental Health Buddy scheme. The idea here is simple, recruit volunteers from the local community to be supportive friends to people who are facing mental health challenges in their lives. We’ve been thrilled to receive 30 applications since the schemes launch in late December. Our target is to recruit 50 buddies from the Sheffield region - find out how to apply here.
Finally we are loving working with Sheffield Flourish to run the Social Cafe every Wednesday from 10am to 12noon. Although we’ve had to take the Cafe online we have great fun doing quizzes, chatting about live and learning Mindfulness together. The Cafe is open to men and women in the Sheffield region who’s facing Mental Health Challenges and is from a Black, Asian or Ethnic Minority Background. Community groups can also refer people and come along with their service users. Email us to find out more.
Most of all this project has been a wonderful learning experience for us. We’ve been challenged for some time that our work needed to be Wellbeing that was simple to engage with and accessible to all. Being involved in this project has taught all of us so much and we are enjoying meeting clients and working with partners to share our message and to help support their work and recovery.
In this we’ve learnt that being an “ally” to the Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority communities of our city is a wonderful journey where we listen and learn a great deal, and where we can support each person and each community as they work for inclusion, equality and health. We hope this work and these friends will stay with us for a long time.