Black Mental Health UK: your news, policy and research resource on mental health and African Caribbean communities. We aim to reduce the inequalities in the treatment and care of people from African Caribbean communities and inform these communities on how to influence the strategic development, policy design and implementation of services.

Thousands of people from across the country came together to support the family of Smiley Culture and the hundreds of other families who have lost loved ones in police custody or the care of the state. 
Estimated to be largest march of its kind since the New Cross Fire, this demonstration marks the change in both the community's response and national attitude towards the deaths in custody.

Politicians, senior health officials, service users, mental health professionals and community activits attended BMH UK's national service on mental health,  Emmanuel Centre in Marsham Street, London on the evening of Thursday 30th October,  just a day before the 10th  anniversary of the death of  Bennett, an African Caribbean patient who died at the hands of those tasked with his care.

Delegates at this event travellel down from may parts of the country, including Scotland, the Isle of Wight, portsmouth, Wolverhapton, Nuneaton and Essex, as well as from across many parts of London.   All were keen to learn more about the progress  thas been made to address the institutional racim, within mental health services highlighted in the Bennett Inquiry report.  With the crisis in mental health getting progressively worse, speakers at this event called for the Government to revist these recommendations with a view to see them fully implimented in order to see a reduction in the disturbingly high rates of sectioning of people from African Caribbean communities. 

Tuesday's historic election victory for Barack Obama was met with euphoria by the senior politicians, activists, media personalities,church leaders and journalists who attended Operation Black Votes, Obama party on election night.

Click on the link below to see images of  who attended  what has been described as the the capital city's best presidential election party on a night on which  will undoubtedly go down as one of the most significant nights in history.

In the run up to Christmas, people locked up often mistreated within psychiatric settings are not at the forefront of many people' minds. BMH UK organised a gospel explosion to put the focus back on the forgotten during the festive season. The event entitled ‘Jesus the real reason for the season' was well attended by all quarters of the community.  From church pastors, journalists, students, senior mental health executives, mental health carers and most importantly services users.

Click on the images below view this celebration event.   Opening with the acclaimed IDMC Gospel choir the audience enjoyed an evening of  Christmas, carols gospel hymns, lryrical poetry, acapella and commentary from leading politicians, academics and community leaders. 

On Tuesday 1 May, 2007, BMH UK held the only all parliamentary briefing on the impact the proposed changes within the 2006 mental health Bill would have on people from African Caribbean communities with a view to seeing a reduction in their disproportionate over representation in acute psychiatric settings.

Hosted by Sarah Tether MP, delegates at the briefing included policy leads from all the major political parties.

Black Mental Health UK (BMH UK ) was launched in August 2006, at Europe's largest church, KICC (Kingsway International Christian Center) during their annual conference. The conference, entitled IGOC (International Gathering of Champions) ran for eight days and hosted in the region of 30 thousand delegates.  Our lunch at this event brought the message of the crisis and abuses that occur in psyciatric settings to an audience of thousands.  Set up soley to redress the ineqalities in the treatment and care of patients from African Caribbean communities, this launch presented the opportunity to publicise the experience of patients from this group, who have routinely faced the most adverse treatment over the last 30 years.

BMH UK's stand proved the ideal way to bring the issue of mental health into the heart of the community in a context where delegates felt comfortable talking about any aspect of this issue in a non judgemental and safe environment.