On 3 June Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England published a
Statement of Solidarity in support of Black communities in the UK and globally.
In that statement we committed to taking a good hard look at ourselves as a social enterprise.
We are asking ourselves what we must do to become a truly anti-racist organisation, to ensure we play our part in dismantling structural racism and reducing racial disparities in mental health.
I want us to take the time to get input from our staff and our Instructor Members to create a plan that is going to drive meaningful, long term systemic change.
I recognise that with each week that passes it is important to be accountable for the progress – or lack of it - and changes we make along the way. This blog is an interim report which sets out the conversations we have been having and the commitments we have made so far.
From conversations with our staff and our Instructor Members we have identified six areas of activity that we need to focus on.
These are:
- Create a Statement of Intent that describes our commitment to be an anti-racist organisation and ties into our core purpose, vision, mission and values as a social enterprise.
- Make sure we have the right data to drive decisions and actions
- Work in partnership with experts to create a learning and development programme for our staff, and MHFA England Instructor Members.
- Review all our policies – including recruitment and selection - to ensure they are truly anti-racist
- Make sure our existing and new products address race, racism, oppression and racial disparities and work to increase understanding, reduce stigma and racial inequalities
- Work in partnership with Black led organisations to build capacity to address mental health within communities.
Much more work will be done in the weeks ahead to quantify the scope, actions and resources needed for success.
Whilst conversations continue to develop the action plan, we have started work on our Statement of Intent and on data. First steps include a book club, starting with the topics of white privilege, the origins of language and understanding microaggressions. And we are in the process of removing the ‘Black Dog - depression’ video from our Mental Health First Aid course.
I recognise that some of the commitments we are making now should have been made earlier and am sorry that they weren’t. I also know the work to dismantle systemic racism will not be quick and it won’t be easy or comfortable, but however difficult or uncomfortable it is for me, or any individual person or team, that discomfort or pain will be nothing compared to the negative and inexcusable enduring impact of racism.
Our vision to improve the mental health of the nation is, and must be, underpinned by a commitment to equity. Our work to tackle racism is fundamental to our vision and mission as a social enterprise.
