Right Here Newham to bleach the streets with positive messages to mark World Mental Health Day
Source: Mental Health Foundation
On Monday 10th October, the Right Here Newham programme, designed to improve the mental health of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) young people in the area, will be bleaching the streets of the borough with positive mental health messages to challenge the stigma around mental illness.
At the heart of the Right Here Newham project, a partnership between the Mental Health Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, is the message "nothing about us, without us" - they believe BAME young people must have a say in the support that is provided to help them look after their mental health. In general, BAME young men and women only access mental health services at crisis point, with a lack of appropriate early intervention and preventative services leaving this group particularly vulnerable.
A recent Time to Change survey showed that almost nine out of ten people with mental health problems (87%) reported the negative impact that stigma and discrimination has on their lives. The young people involved in the Right Here Newham project want to raise awareness of this by using reverse graffiti, which is a method of creating temporary or semi-permanent images on walls or other surfaces by removing dirt from a surface. It is completely safe and environmental friendly and the bleach is made from natural products and is biodegradable. The group plans to kick start the activity at 5.30pm outside the Right Here Newham Office.
Karen Douglas, Young People Community Development Officer says: 'We got the idea when we visited our twin project Right Here Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland, where we helped them blast the streets with positive messages. The whole town of Enniskillen was supportive and many young people came up and were asking questions about what we were doing. Even the leader of the council got intrigued and paid us a visit and took a picture with us to show his support. It would be great to get that kind of backing here in Newham as many of our BAME young people are feeling rejected at the moment and would like to be seen in a positive light for a change.
'Stigma and discrimination have been found to be major problems for young people with mental health problems. They can delay their recovery, make their symptoms worse and stop them from getting help when they need it. We hope that our positive messages on the streets help raise awareness of these issues.'
Julian from the Right Here Newham steering group says: 'Street bleaching is a good idea for cleaning up the community and making other people smile with our positive messages'
Event Details: 5.30pm, Monday 10th October 2011, NCY 25 Claughton Road, Plaistow, London E13 9PN
