Welcome to your August Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England newsletter. This month’s newsletter will look at our work on anti-racism and mental health. We hope the resources, materials and training options included will help some of you join us on this journey too.
Welcome to your August MHFA England newsletter. Recently we saw Covid-19 restrictions lifted, and I have no doubt will have left some people feeling conflicted. On the one hand, we all want our lives to return to normal, but on the other there is anxiety and uncertainty for many. At times like this, it’s so important that we show tolerance, empathy and kindness towards each other and remember, that while some may find this a natural next step, others will be concerned for themselves, their families and loved ones.
We also saw the England men’s football team do their nation proud last month, but it was devastating seeing the racist abuse that followed. We stand with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, the England Men's Football Team, and all who have suffered racist abuse. Yet again, we were reminded that racism still very much exists in our society but what we’ve also witnessed is that there is far less tolerance for this hateful behaviour. We applaud the efforts made by the team on and off the pitch to create history, champion equality and stand against racism.
We stand with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, the England Men's Football Team, and all who have suffered racist abuse. As an anti-racist social enterprise, we cannot and will not tolerate racism while it continues to impact People of Colour and Black people.
— Mental Health First Aid England (@MHFAEngland) July 12, 2021
It is always worth reiterating that we cannot and will not tolerate racism while it continues to impact the lives and mental health of People of Colour and Black people. Until racism is eliminated, we will do everything we can to combat it, and we thank all of you who have supported and will continue to support us with this mission.
As you may have seen, we recently launched our new Race Equity and Mental Health course for senior leaders, which now feels even more timely and valuable. This month’s newsletter will look at this and some of the wider work we have done on anti-racism and mental health since we made our Statement of Intent to be an actively anti-racist social enterprise. We hope the resources, materials and training options included will help some of you join us on this journey too.
Best wishes,
Simon Blake
CEO, MHFA England
New Race Equity and Mental Health course
In June we launched our new Race Equity and Mental Health course. Designed for small groups of senior leaders, the course will guide attendees through a collective journey of cultural change.
In a recent CMHA report, over a quarter of Black People say their mental health has been negatively impacted by racism experienced at work, and Black People and People of Colour are more likely to say they have to change their behaviour to fit in at work. Despite this, in an MHFA England poll, only 16% of respondents said they would feel comfortable and confident talking about race in the workplace.
Through a combination of sessions led by MHFA England Instructor Members and individual learning, the course has been developed to give people the tools to speak confidently and authentically about race, using the opportunities of leadership to dismantle racial inequities.
Anita Wheeler, Head of Learning, Development and Internal Communications at Student Roost, described her experience;
"Get ready to open your eyes and ears and be ready to learn. We have all trodden a different path and for some this has been a difficult one. Our facilitators carefully guided us through the course, providing a safe space to learn about such an important subject."
As well as our new Race Equity and Mental Health course, we have a number of resources available to help support your continued education about anti-racism, allyship and how to support the mental health of People of Colour and Black colleagues.
We encourage you to look at some of the resources below and share them with colleagues and friends:
Ama Afrifa-Tchie, Head of People, Wellbeing and Equity, MHFA England
Chloe Davies, Global LGBT+ Inclusion and Wellbeing Expert and MHFA England Ambassador
Phil Samba, Strategic Lead for Queer Men of Colour, The Love Tank
In a wide-ranging discussion they explored the importance of challenging racism from the top to address inequities in the workplace, what authentic and real allyship looks like, and answered questions from the audience on what they can do to support their workplaces.
If you were unable to join us, you can watch the full recording below:
Find out more about our webinars
We are looking forward to hosting and co-hosting more MHFA England Live webinars over the next few months. We will be covering a range of topics on mental health in the workplace.
Each year at MHFA England, we give staff two wellbeing weeks, one in the summer and one in the winter. It is one way of supporting the wellbeing of our staff and helping to prevent burnout and work-related stress. It gives the whole organisation the chance to collectively switch off from work, knowing that everyone is off and you won’t return to an overflowing inbox.
This year’s summer wellbeing week will take place from Monday 23 – Tuesday 31 August. We will not be responding to calls, emails or social media messages during this time. If you need anything from us before then, please get in touch as soon as possible.
The construction sector reports some of the highest rates of mental ill health in the country. A recent report by the CIOB found that 87% of employees in the sector experienced anxiety, 70% experienced depression, and 97% experienced stress. Most concerningly, over a quarter (26%) of respondents reported having suicidal thoughts.
Last month, we were delighted to see the results of the social impact report of the Mental Health First Aiders programme, as part of the Building Mental Health programme. The initiative is supported by the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity and funded by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
The programme aims to tackle the crisis in the sector by providing a framework to enable all parts of the industry to access mental health support, awareness and training, as well as putting in place structures and systems to support people working in and around construction.
The report found that in first three years of the Mental Health First Aiders programme has trained 288 MHFA Instructor Members and 3,000 Mental Health First Aiders and has delivered an estimated social value of £5.5 million.
.png)
