Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation
Right now, our mental health system is stacked against Black and Brown people. People from racialised communities are more likely to experience a mental health problem but less likely to receive the help they need.
Stats on racism and mental health
Being there for everyone experiencing a mental health problem is fundamental to who we are. But the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on racialised communities, and the tragic killing of George Floyd and the anti-racism protests that followed, made us recognise where we’d been falling short.
Yes. We’ve built services, campaigned for and supported people from racialised communities.
But individual projects and good intentions will only take us so far.
The deep-rooted inequalities in society and in the mental health system are also found within Mind. There are so many people we don’t reach. Who don’t see Mind as relevant to their lives. Who we haven’t listened to hard enough or worked with closely enough.
To change this, we recognise that Mind needs to change – in terms of who we are as an organisation, how we support the mental health of people from racialised communities and how we acknowledge and challenge racism more widely.
"The ‘big, bad black man syndrome’… you’re more likely to be heavily medicated or physically restrained. You expect it."
Taking action
Our ambition is to become a truly anti-racist organisation. We will be an unflinching advocate for racial justice and mental health. Our support will be engaging and effective for people from racialised communities. We will invest in building an inclusive organisational culture with diverse leaders.
Our Race Equality in Mind Initiative will also look to deliver greater racial equity in our culture, our values, our structure, our decisions, the support we provide, our partnerships, our campaigns and the way all staff approach our roles. Mind trustee Richard Addy who chairs of our Race Equality Advisory Board will be leading this initiative.
We are partnering with organisations who have the experience and expertise to transform the mental health of racialised communities.
"The term 'hard to reach' is quite stigmatising and diminishing. If we’re hard to reach, it suggests we're the problem."
What we're doing now
Some of the things that we’re doing to support the mental health of racialised communities include:
- working together with the Ubele Initiative and Black Thrive on the BAYO programme. BAYO is here to support the mental health and wellbeing of young Black people through services, collectives and different organisations.
- our information on racism and mental health where you can find advice and support around the impact of racism.
- campaigning to end the racial disparity in the use of the Mental Health Act.
- campaigning on the introduction of Seni’s law to reduce the use of force specifically in mental health hospitals.
- working with our local Minds to provide tailored services to the diverse communities they serve.
Our anti-racism commitment statement
In the UK, race and mental health are closely linked. Systemic racism is detrimental to the mental health of Black people. Things have to change and that includes us. We are determined to think and act more equitably in solidarity with the Black community. We’re more committed than ever to becoming actively anti-racist in everything we do. We know we’ve still got a long way to go but we are determined to achieve this.
Read next
Read our strategy
In our charity strategy we're committing to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation. Find out what this means for us.
Young Black Men's programme
Our 3-year programme works with 11 to 30 year-olds by offering a range of tailored local services working specifically with young Black men.
Our Mental Health Act work
The current Mental Health Act is outdated and discriminatory. We're working to change that.