The last month of the year is upon us and it’s an opportunity to inform you of the vital projects ongoing at BMHS and provide details on how you can be part of it. As a volunteer led Organisation, we say a big thank you to all our stakeholders that have made the year a success and for your commitment to inspiring a mentally healthy community. Our next Annual General meeting is on December 26th, 2022, 12noon to 13:30 at 19 High Street SA1 1LF , virtual link details will be provided on request if any of our stakeholder would like to join virtually.
The Neurodiversity Project (TNP) formerly Learning Disability Project
The project’s aim to normalising disability conversations and empower families to be able to find their voices and have the confidence to access appropriate services. This project supported by West Glamorgan Regional Partnership will help to address stigma associated with learning disabilities & neurodevelopmental conditions in minority ethnic communities, as well as support families to take ownership of their pathway by being better informed of all available options, services, and information.
The activities that will be delivered as part of the project, which will bring about desired change and build up social skills and confidence include weekly drop-in sessions to foster peer support and monthly outdoor activities for children and young people. For further information on how to be part of this project funded by West Glamorgan regional Partnership, please email admin@bamementalhealth.org or you can use the referral form.
Ethnic Minority Bereavement Support
The aim of the project is to make bereavement support accessible to people from diverse communities.
There is an increased demand for culturally competent service delivery, and we intend to build on our success of providing inclusive culturally relevant mental health support over the years and to improve service access and integration with a strong focus on preventive activity through the recognition of anticipatory grief and support for families, friends, and carers, ensuring everyone has equitable access to high quality bereavement care and support when they need it.
BMHS recognize that every person’s bereavement experience is different, and that unresolved grief can lead to complex mental health problems, anxiety, depression, and the risk of suicide. Our service will complement the NHS by offering daily or as-needed support to bereaved people. Leveraging on our multilingual capacity in the team, BMHS will support minority ethnic people at the most difficult time in their lives by helping to navigate feelings in real-time and facilitate new sustainable coping mechanisms. For further information on how to be part of this project funded by West Glamorgan Regional Partnership, please email admin@bamementalhealth.org or you can use the referral form.
Creative Writing Project
The Creative Writing project aims to support Wales-based minority ethnic people to proffer ideas in writing on how mental health services in Wales can be improved and support them to professionally advance their creative writing skills and careers through training, mentoring, and coaching. There is also the opportunity to support writers to get published. Weekly mentorship and coaching sessions will be led by experienced and respected authors/writers. The workshops are intended to introduce participants to a variety of writers who write in a variety of genres and to provide participants with the opportunity to question the authors about their work and how they navigated the writing industry.
For further information on how to be part of this project funded by Book Council of Wales. please email ronald@bamementalhealth.org or visit the Creative Writing page here.
Breakfast and Fitness Club
This project aims to promote a healthy lifestyle while also providing opportunities for community members to visit various tourist attractions in Wales.
The breakfast and fitness club meets at the BMHS Community Hub at 8:00 a.m. on the last Saturday of each month, with planned visits to other venues.
For more information on how to participate in this initiative, please contact admin@bamementalhealth.org.
Our Elders, Our Heritage
This initiative, funded by West Glamorgan Regional Partnership, aims to help older persons stay independent for as long as possible by enhancing their social networks and maximising community support. We are glad to host monthly bespoke workshops for the elderly in order to provide a venue for peer support and the exchange of insights, information, advice, and guidance. We also recently completed a report for the Older People Commissioner for Wales leveraging on our strong community connections with older people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities by facilitating engagement and documenting their lived experience in Swansea.
This project gives us an opportunity to address the issues raised in the report. For further information on how to be part of this project, please email admin@bamementalhealth.org
GWR/ BMHS PARTNERSHIP
GWR partnership with BMHS aim to deliver a series of free Mental Health Awareness courses to local community groups and faith-based organisations. The courses will be targeted at staff and volunteers and aim to give participants the skills to be able to recognise, understand and support people with mental health and mental distress.
For too long mental health research has not been representative of the diverse society that we live in. Ethnic minorities have been underrepresented in medical and scientific studies, despite struggling with proportionally higher rates of mental illness.
By actively championing voices from diverse backgrounds, investing in new talent, and by increasing the participation of under-represented groups and those with lived experience in our training and research process, we will be working to actualise our vision of inspiring a Mentally healthy Community. For further information on how to be part of this project funded by Great Western Railway. please email admin@bamementalhealth.org
Women Empowerment Club/ Ladies Night Event
This community-led program aims to help strengthen the mental health, well-being, self-esteem, character, integrity, and capacity of women so that they may achieve their highest potential.
BMHS run the program as a once a month-themed Cafés or ladies night that offer a safe space for confidential conversations covering the many aspects of women’s health, wellbeing, and life – all over a nice, relaxed cuppa.
You will love this exciting and interactive sessions, with different guest speakers, that cover topics including Menopause, Stress, isolation, Loneliness, Gender-based violence, as well as Sex, Beauty, Health, Faith, Food, Finance, Career & Personal development. Join our community where we share, listen, and explore our experiences together. For further information on how to be part of this project, please email lynn@bamementalhealth.org
Academic Integrity Session
We empower students and members of the university community to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to look after their own mental health, support others and create change.
We train students and staff in universities across the UK to deliver student-led peer support interventions as well as research-driven workshops and campaigns.
By working collaboratively across sectors, we share best practice and ensure that the student voice influences decisions about student mental health.
This is an interactive session that will give an overview on what plagiarism is and how to recognize it. We also have discussion around why plagiarism could occur and provide some tips on how to avoid it. For further information on how to be part of this project, please email admin@bamementalhealth.org.
Warm Space/ Football
To make sure that the local community has a place to go during the cold winter months where they can get some much-needed warmth, we've decided to keep the community hub open later than usual and provide free Wi-Fi, power outlets, and refreshments for anyone who might need them. Members of the community can unwind, socialise, and watch the World Cup games together.
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