Human Appeal, a Manchester-based charity has linked up with Bradford’s Breaking the Silence to deliver help and support to South Asian and Muslim men experiencing mental health issues.
Breaking the Silence is a project that was set up in 2012 from the Meridian Centre, a community centre that previously only catered to women and girls, with the backing of Children in Need, specialising in helping men with anxiety, depression, intimacy issues, stress, self-esteem and confidence, assertiveness, trust, panic, aggression, guilt, honour, shame, substance abuse, relationship problems, marital breakdown, parenting, loneliness, and self-care.
For communities and demographics that have historically been left behind when it comes to these issues, it’s another layer to the challenge of how to get people talking.
In the UK, conditions such as depression are known to be higher among Black and Asian communities, but barriers in the mental health care system and the fact that mental health can be more of a taboo in their communities means that Black and Asian men have a much lower rate of coming forward to get help.
Manchester-based humanitarian charity Human Appeal has been working throughout the UK during the pandemic, delivering over 4,500 hot meals for NHS staff, over 5,000 food parcels, 30,000 bottles of hand sanitiser and nearly 70,000 bottles of orange juice across the country.
During this time, the charity picked up on the bubbling mental health crisis among men in ethnic minority communities, which has led to them partnering with Bradford-based Breaking The Silence.
Breaking The Silence was founded in 2012 by psychotherapist Imran Manzoor, in response to a clear rise in mental health disclosures from South Asian boys and young men. What started as an experimental grant from Comic Relief has grown to support over 600 men and boys from across the UK, through one-to-one counselling and group therapy programmes.
The organisation also offers training to other mental health services that want to further their understanding of mental health issues in ethnic minority communities.
The service is completely confidential and open for men of Asian, African and African-Caribbean origin, aged 13 and over. The counsellors are experienced and qualified in a range of therapies and are members of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).
Mr Manzoor said: “Men from ethnic minority communities come to the attention of professional mental health services on average 13 years later, and in a more severely ill state than their white counterparts.
Whilst the masculine maxim of ‘strength in silence’ plays an important role in their reluctance to get help, it is also the cultural-specific beliefs about the causes of mental health that impacts how they experience these issues and their disposition to disclose.
“They fear being ridiculed. Our service makes clear that we are aware of and understand these beliefs, and that we can help despite them.
“We work with whatever issues any individual presents us with, and within whatever parameters make them feel comfortable. By working collaboratively, we provide them with the support they need and where necessary, we can get them specialist support too.”
Abid Shah, Human Appeal’s UK programmes manager said: “One of the biggest problems that has arisen as a result of the pandemic is the rise in depression, anxiety and other mental health issues across the UK.
“We are making a conscious effort to address this problem, specifically amongst men because their mental health is often neglected and brushed under the carpet.
“Many of these men were working with are already facing the consequences of emotional and physical abuse at a young age, but their anxieties have worsened during the lockdown due to the lack of social interaction with colleagues, friends and family. By working with Breaking The Silence, we at Human Appeal can make a real difference to their lives.”
Breakin the Silence UK are also committed to providing help for organisations and professionals to develop their practice to better support Black, Asian, and minority ethnic men.
They offer three-hours sessions to organisations engaging with Black, Asia, and minority ethnic men to help build ‘legitimacy’ – outward signs and practices that demonstrate that they have:
a) An understanding of racist structural inequalities and violent institutional practices (e.g. white supremacy), and a commitment to dismantling them.
b) An understanding of, and a commitment to learning about the cultural circumstances that silence Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities.
c) A commitment to anti-oppressive practice, facing prejudice can be re-traumatising.
