Time to Change Wales, a national campaign to end mental health stigma and discrimination, has partnered with EYST (Ethnic Youth Support Team) to better reach and engage with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in Wales to extend their anti-stigma work.
Over the next year, this strategic partnership will enable Time to Change Wales to combine its expertise in delivering Wales-wide behavioural change initiatives with EYST’s vast expertise, understanding and engagement with minority ethnic communities.
This collaboration will also involve exploring the lived experiences and needs of individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in Wales in relation to mental health stigma and discrimination. This will help shape our programme development and inform our next steps.
Time to Change Wales has recently received funding from Welsh Government until March 2022, and one of the new areas of priority is to research the experiences and needs of individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in Wales. Through this comprehensive listening exercise, Time to Change Wales hopes to better represent the needs and views of individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Lowri Wyn Jones, Programme Manager for Time to Change Wales said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with EYST to deliver the maximum scale of our ambition to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination within diverse communities in Wales.
It’s important to acknowledge that in some communities, mental health problems are rarely spoken about, and this can discourage people from opening up and accessing the right mental health support. Therefore, our partnership with EYST is vital to not only tackle the stigma but to also provide a platform and to encourage a safe and supportive dialogue around mental health.”
Rocio Cifuentes, Chief Executive Officer for EYST said: “We’re really pleased to have been invited to support this important work helping to make mental health something that all communities living in Wales feel able to talk about, and seek support for, without fear of stigma or discrimination. Time to Change Wales is already a successful campaign which has changed public attitudes in Wales, and we’ll be using our networks to help it reach all corners of Wales and a diversity of people across age groups, cultures and migration backgrounds.”