Birmingham and Solihull Mental NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) are supporting the Dery Foundation, based in Small Health, to provide Mental Health First Aid training for sixteen of their volunteers. The two organisations worked together to secure just over £9,000 Awards for All lottery funding to deliver the training.
The Dery Foundation, based in Small Heath, is a voluntary, community led Somali mental health organisation addressing the mental health difficulties and issues facing the local Somali community in Birmingham.
The Mental Health First Aid training will give volunteers the knowledge and skills to promote mental health awareness and challenge stigma in the Somalian Community.
John Short, Chief Executive, BSMHFT explained why the Trust wanted to support the Dery Foundation with their funding application: “These trained volunteers will organise much needed workshops for the Somalian community, where mental health is rarely talked about. We hope we can increase their knowledge of mental health and the services that are available to support them.”
Shukri J. Mohammed, Centre Manager, Dery Foundation, said: “We were delighted that the Trust worked with us on our Awards for All lottery bid. They helped us to gather evidence of the need for the project, as we know some members of the Somali community struggle with mental ill health, but that the subject is rarely mentioned in their culture. There is also a mistrust of mental health services. The training from BSMHFT will help us to educate and support our communities.”
The Mental Health First Aid training will take place in the Spring.
