What is the Connecting Communities service?
We are fortunate to live in a wonderfully diverse community in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area. However, some of us face challenges with our mental health. At Norfolk and Waveney Mind, we firmly believe that no one should have to face these struggles alone.
We acknowledge that some ethnically diverse communities may encounter additional obstacles in accessing mental health and general healthcare services. To address this, we have developed the Connecting Communities service. Our aim is to eliminate these barriers and ensure that mental health support is accessible to everyone, regardless of their background.
This service warmly welcomes individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds, such as asylum seekers, refugees, members of Black, Asian, or Travelling Communities and all other minority groups. We prioritise meeting the unique needs of individuals within these communities. For instance, if English is not your first language, we will strive to ensure that you can still access the mental health support you require.
What type of support do we offer?
Our service offers time-limited one-on-one sessions (between 6-8 sessions). In these sessions we provide emotional support for people. We also enable people to achieve their potential by building self-confidence, self-esteem and self-determination leading to improved general and mental health, wellbeing and connecting with the individual’s community.
The service is based on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing and CHIME principles – these are a set of simple guiding principles proven to improve our everyday wellbeing:
- Connect with other people
- Be physically active
- Learn new skills
- Give to others
- Pay attention to the present moment
Who can access this service?
To access this service, individuals must be at least 18 years old and residents of the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area.
Have you experienced discrimination?
Experiencing acts of discrimination can have a detrimental impact on our mental wellbeing, as it can leave us feeling: unwelcomed, isolated, misunderstood, stressed, anxious, and can cause depression, PTSD or suicidal thoughts.
Unfortunately, instances of such treatment may occur when attempting to access healthcare or mental health services or while being supported by a service provider. As a result, it can lead to people from minority groups not wanting to access this support in the future, as they may fear that they will be discriminated against yet again.
With this in mind, we created the Connecting Communities service as a dedicated service aiming to raise awareness and understanding, and to eliminate obstacles faced by ethnic minority communities.
You may find the links below helpful, if you have experienced discrimination:
Stop Hate UK: Home - Stop Hate UK
National Mind Website: Useful contacts - Racism and mental health - Mind
GOV.UK, reporting a hate crime: Report hate crime - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Below are further links to other organisations and services, that you may also find helpful:
Asylum Seeker Helplines: Asylum helplines - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
GYROS (Great Yarmouth Refugee Outreach & Support: About GYROS | gyros
SayHi App, Translation: SayHi Translate: Voice Translation for iOS and Android
Would you like to become a Connecting Communities volunteer?
We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to become a part of the Connecting Communities team. Volunteering for us can help you gain valuable experience working in a mental health environment.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the Connecting Communities service, then please click on the link below to apply. You don’t need experience to become a volunteer. We welcome and encourage bilingual or multilingual volunteers.