Partnering up for Black mental health
This Summer, we are proud to announce the launch of a new partnership in Lambeth and Southwark, as part of an Impact on Urban Health-funded initiative to improve mental health disparities for Black children, families, parents, carers and other community members.
Through Harambee: Our Say, Our Way, Partisan is thrilled to have joined forced with Black-led organisations: Milk Honey Bees, Loughborough Community Centre and ParentSkills2Go, and will be working collectively with the Black community in Lambeth and Southwark to design and invest £150,000 toward initiatives aiming to improve mental health outcomes.
Importantly, we’ll be exploring these ideas collectively, through a co-design process that aims to give all partners, and the communities we serve, the power to decide what we want to do and how we want to do it.
Jay Perkins, Founder of Partisan CIC said:
“This partnership is not just about designing services and interventions, it’s about redistributing power and resources to communities who’ve long been excluded from shaping the systems that impact their lives. At Partisan, we believe healing starts when communities lead. With this programme, we’re not just testing new approaches, we’re investing in the expertise, care, and leadership that already exist within Lambeth and Southwark. We’re excited to see what matters most to the local communities here, and where they want to get involved in creating change.””
We’ll soon be looking for 7 community members between the 4 partners, who will help direct how the £150,000 pot gets used to design alternative mental health help systems in the community.
Additionally, we’ll be exploring how to grow our own capacity as Black-led organisations, strengthening our infrastructure and services together, and building our world-view through skills and knowledge sharing.
Ebinehita Iyere, Founder of Milk Honey Bees said:
“At Milk Honey Bees, we know that healing for Black girls and their communities starts with being seen, heard and valued. The Harambee partnership is a powerful step towards building the kind of care systems our communities actually need rooted in trust, creativity and lived experience. Through the partnership we will ensure that we are restoring power, choice and ownership to the communities who’ve always held the answers. By working collectively and centring lived experience, we’re investing not just in services, but in legacy, leadership and long-term change across Lambeth and Southwark.”
Candice James, Director of Loughborough Community Centre and Collete Thomas, HR & Well-being Lead, said:
“We’re thrilled to be a partner on Harambee, a new partnership focused on mental health and well-being. This collaboration represents a meaningful step towards creating more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable support systems within our community. By working together, we aim to co-create, co- design activities that are thoughtfully aligned with the unique needs and everyday realities of the people we serve across Lambeth and Southwark. We believe that by listening closely and engaging deeply, we can develop a healthier, more connected community where everyone has access to the care and support they need to thrive.”
This initiative will, importantly, look at agency as a mental health intervention.
Partisan wants to understand how healing it might be for communities when they have the agency to act and decide how money is spent in their community, and have invited Word on the Curb to be our learning partner throughout the project to help us test, learn and adapt our approaches.
To find out more about Harambee and how to get involved in Lambeth or Southwark, contact hello@partisanuk.org.