Health minister Rosie Winterton has announced £1m in new funding for 40 community engagement projects across England to help build stronger links between mental health services and black and minority ethnic communities.
The projects are part of Delivering Race Equality, the government action plan for reducing inequalities and discrimination in the mental health system, and aim to improve the access, experience and outcomes of BME communities by forging links between the statutory and non-statutory sectors.
The projects will join the 40 community engagement projects already set up.
Winterton said: “Services must better adapt to the needs of BME communities, and offer care that more successfully avoids the need for detention in hospital and can prevent mental illness leading to a prison sentence.”
More information
Essential mental health information
Bodies slow to hire race equality staff
Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health struggles to recruit workers
Mental Health: Over-representation of BME patients increases
28 November 2008
Parents from ethnic minorities with mental health problems and their children
10 September 2008
GPs prescribe fewer antidepressants to ethnic minorities
01 September 2008
Sheffield's Pakistani community helped with mental illnes by Enhanced Pathways In Care project
07 May 2008
Positive images of social work
01 July 2009
Laming review of child protection
12 May 2009
Bristol finds common assessment framework liberates social workers and spreads responsibilities
01 July 2009
Helping people with mental health problems who are in debt
29 June 2009
How ITV Fixers have enabled young people to go public with life stories
17 June 2009
Khyra Ishaq: Accused face retrial after jury discharged
One third of children may be living with binge-drinking parents
Social workers 'must use GSCC code to challenge workloads'
Safeguarding board chair says Doncaster Council is struggling to recruit social workers
Details of government consultations
12 June 2009
Government Legislation
02 December 2008
Private Member Bills
21 November 2008