Motherwell are a charity we’ve worked with for a number of years, and their most recent project aims to combat loneliness and isolation in the BAME community in Crewe.
Motherwell Cultural Connect (MCC) meets in Crewe and talks about a wide range of topics including mental health, healthy relationships, finding local support in the community, and healthy lifestyles. There have also been guest speakers from Health Watch, local churches, and maternity services.
The women attending MCC are now better informed on the local services available, and are less reliant on the GP as a source of help.
While Black women in the UK remain largely overlooked in mental health research, they are more likely to be admitted and detained at psychiatric units than white British women, report encountering harmful stereotypes and racism within the mental health system, and often disengage from mainstream mental health services (reference from Womens Resource Centre, Fair Deal for Women Report). Motherwell report that their attendees have an understanding of what positive mental health looks like and what therapeutic support is available to them, which is vital in the context of this research.
The group has supported the building of friendships with liked minded but culturally or religiously different women, in turn reducing isolation and loneliness.
The participants have also been able to learn new skills through crafting and art work, building confidence and nurturing relaxation.
It is thanks to the generosity of our donors that projects such as this can continue. The benefits are felt throughout the community, and trickle down through generations. Increased cultural understanding, positive attitudes around mental health support, and a greater awareness of the local services available, will strengthen Crewe as a whole.