Spotlight on ANKH Place – July/August 50 Steps Changemaker organisation

Spotlight on ANKH Place – July/August 50 Steps Changemaker organisation 

ANKH Place as a new CIC took the opportunity to apply to be the commissioned service for young Black men aged up to 30, who had lived experience of mental ill-health and/or experience of using mental health support services. Our priorities lay within the 50 steps, People section, in particular promoting good mental health, steps 8- 10.

We initially worked with 8 men, who had responded to promotions, to create the programme outline with the intention in supporting a wider group of up to 50 men to create a new, improved, culturally appropriate support system and service for local Black men.

In this discovery phase we planned sessions with REIN and The Mix, using their centre as the project base. We sourced a range of mentors, therapists, creatives and advisors i.e. financial, anticipating the focus and the cultural preferences for the men. We took a multi-agency, user led approach and were flexible with the programme agenda. The men determined that they should try and test their ideas and used this to build and improve the offer. The therapists and mentors held the space. Tablecloths were used to etch ideas and art expressions and individual journals captured their notes to themselves, some now used as an exhibition piece.

It ends with a film and photography reel on ‘the making of and Red-Carpet certification of attendance. The outcome is that they created the steps towards the second testing phase.

The call to action is to support local people, in this case men, to feel comfortable and confident in accessing destigmatised mental health support; being a source by sharing what is available and getting involved in community wellbeing as an act of kindness.