Annual review 2007/08
Stigma and discrimination
Uncovering minority issues
Making a difference
Since 2006, Rethink in the West Midlands had been running the Aap Ki Awaaz project with the local Pakistani community to improve attitudes to mental health and access to services. The project was carried out by community development workers from a Rethink service in partnership with our research team and the University of Central Lancashire.
Making it happen
- Together we produced Our Voice, a report from the Aap Ki Awaaz project, which found that many respondents felt the negative coverage of Muslims adversely affected their mental health.
- We also surveyed the general public to find out if the public treats Muslims experiencing mental health problems differently from other people with mental health problems. We found that whilst 29% of the British public didn’t want to live next door to someone with mental health problems this figure rose to 47% if they were Muslim.
Making an impact
- Aap Ki Awaaz won our coveted Pringle Award for Service of the Year and our research is now informing the work of the Care Services Improvement Partnership in developing meaningful services for black and minority ethnic communities.
Moving forward
We’ll continue to raise awareness of similar issues and provide education programmes within Pakistani and Muslim communities in the West Midlands. We’ll encourage Muslim service users and carers to get more involved in campaigns and local forums to influence the shape of local mental health services.
Moving you forward
