The review was conducted by Coram alongside an evaluation of the Community-Based Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being Support Pilot funded by the London Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and the Major’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). This review is not part of the VRU-funded work and is being published by Coram.
The main, VRU-funded project included an evaluation of Midaye’s Hope Project and Groundwork’s Strengthening Families, two London-based grassroots mental well-being and family support programmes aiming to improve the well-being of parents and carers from minoritised and marginalised ethnic backgrounds who also live in areas affected by high and sustained levels of violence.
The programmes offer a mix of individual and family therapy, peer support groups and workshops/information sessions to improve familiarity of local services. Service users were predominately of Black African, Caribbean or North African/Muslim backgrounds hence the focus on those communities in areas of the review. Further details about the evaluation can be found in the main evaluation report, in addition to a best practice briefing.
This review is for practitioners, policymakers and researchers who work with families from minoritised and marginalised ethnic backgrounds but is likely to be relevant for those whose work is related to mental health and well-being.
The review looks at 1) risk factors for poorer mental health outcomes within minoritised and marginalised ethnic communites, 2) barriers to effective treatment of mental health issues and 3) the efficacy of mental health interventions/services for individuals and their families and 4) implications of the review for research, practice and policy.