Black Thrive Update
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Welcome to the second edition of the Black Thrive newsletter. We hope it provides you with some opportunities to learn more about Black Thrive and mental health awareness, support and services. If you have ideas for how we can improve the newsletter, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
We also send our deepest sympathies and love to the Manchester community, especially to those who have lost a loved one in last night' senseless tragedy.
Some quick updates for April and May:
- Many members of the Black Thrive community have been hard at work completing the new Black Thrive website. We are excited to launch the site today!!! Please visit us, look around and let us know how we can improve it to meet your needs.
- We also launched our new social media channels recently, the links to which can be found below. Please like, share and follow for all the latest on Black Thrive.
- This month all our Working Groups have started to learn more about Black Thrive's goals and outcomes. Join our next round of Working Group meetings to get inspired and gain valuable insights from member-led presentations. Info on upcoming meetings included below.
- An inquest report was recently published looking into the death of Olaseni Lewis. Please read on for further information.
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Get Involved!
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Join a Working Group
If you would like to learn more about Black Thrive Working Groups focussed on the following areas, please click below:
1) Prevention
2) Access to Appropriate Services
3) Patient Experience
Working Groups meet monthly to discuss actions and learn together on each issue area but that is only the start of their work!
Upcoming meetings take place alternating Tuesdays between 5:45 pm and 7:45 pm:
Working Group |
Dates: |
Location |
Prevention |
Tuesday, 23rd May |
Vauxhall Gardens Community Centre 5 Glasshouse Walk, Lambeth
SE11 5ES |
Access |
Tuesday, 30th May |
Experience |
Tuesday, 6th June |
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Leadership Opportunity
Kings Health Partners are launching a qualitative study exploring the physical healthcare of mental health service users from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. They are currently recruiting members of their Steering Committee. The group will be established in early 2017 to provide personal experience and knowledge to help guide the project. If you are interested in applying to be one of the study's Steering Committee members, please see the job description.
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Mental Health News
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Social media and its impact on the mental health of young people
Last week, a report produced by Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH)* and the Young Health Movement* was published highlighting the negative impact of four of the five most common social media platforms used by young people. The survey asked 1,479 young people aged 14-24 to score popular social media apps on issues such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, bullying, body image and "fear of missing out" and concluded that Instagram was the worst offender with Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter also contributing to increased feelings of inadequacy and anxiety. Read an article from the Guardian about the report here and a summary overview on the study by the NHS here.
*The RSPH is an independent charity that works to improve the health and wellbeing of the public. The Young Health Movement, run by RSPH, is a collective of individuals striving to raise public health awareness in young people.
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Olaseni Lewis Inquest Conclusion

From the entire Lambeth Black Thrive community, we extend our deepest sympathy, love and support to Mr. Lewis' family and loved ones.
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Olaseni Lewis, 23, from South Norwood, died on 3 September 2010, three days after he was subjected to two periods of restraint while in the care of Bethlem Royal Hospital. You can learn more about the case on Inquest's website. The Black Thrive community, including all our service partners, are strongly committed to ensuring this does not happen again; we will do our part to focus our attention and action on all related matters so that we can ensure that no more black lives are lost in this way.
Press releases from both SLaM and the Metropolitan Police share how services are responding.
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Healthwatch on Mental Health Experiences
Healthwatch Lambeth have recently completed and published their Enter and View Mental Health Community Service Report.
Mental health is a priority area of work for Healthwatch Lambeth. In 2015, they decided to take a closer look at community-based mental health services in recognition of the large numbers of people who rely on primary care and community services as an important means of support. To learn more about the findings of the visits be sure to read the report! 
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Featured Voice
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Cordwell Thomas, Black Thrive Steering Committee Member
With each edition of the newsletter, we will aim to share voices from across the Black Thrive community. For the April/May newsletter, we are featuring the voice of Cordwell Thomas, a member of both Black Thrive's Steering Committee and the Working Group on Access to Appropriate Services. Visit the featured voice page of the new Black Thrive website to read Cordwell's interview!
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What's On
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Family Fun Day
Naybur is hosting a family bank holiday fun day. Bring the kids in their fanciest fancy dress costume and prepare to dance down memory lane. Caribbean food, vegetarian fare, face painting. Dance performances by Diversity and Flawless workshop trainees Still Moving.
DATE AND TIME
Mon 29 May 2017
14:00 - 19:00
LOCATION
Myatts Field Centre, 24, Crawhay Road, London SW9 6FZ
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Mental Health First Aid
The Adult MHFA Lite course is an introductory three hour mental health awareness course offered free of charge by Tower Hamlets Community Education Provider Network.
DATE AND TIME
Thu 15 June 2017
13:30 – 16:30
LOCATION
The Centre, Community Hall
32 Merchant Street, London E3 4LX
Book your place
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Service Spotlight
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Solidarity in a Crisis supports people in distress by providing out of hours emotional support over the phone and in person. The service is run by Peer Supporters who have their own experience of facing and overcoming crisis.
By sharing life experiences, Peer Supporters can promote recovery and enhance feelings of belonging, especially for those who feel isolated. All the Peer Supporters are highly trained and receive on-going support.
This service is available in the borough of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham.
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