Mental Health Research
Our new project aims to explore the mental health and wellbeing of Central and Eastern Europeans in Birmingham by identifying barriers which prevent their engagement with services. The findings of this project will enable positive change by recommending necessary actions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of CEE individuals, as reported by these communities during the course of this project.
Recent reports have identified CEE communities within Birmingham as having higher rates of suicide than other nationalities. This consistent finding informed this research project and promoted action from Birmingham City Council’s Public Health. You can view this report here.
Centrala and Public Health Birmingham created this project to investigate this issue by working with CEE communities to gain knowledge of their experiences of mental health and the services offered to them within Birmingham. We will be engaging with such communities over the course of the next 12 months in order to identify any gaps in services within Birmingham which may contribute to the mental health issues found within the CEE communities.
This project aims to show the need for change regarding the support of CEE communities and their mental health, and offer recommended steps to take in order to help such communities integrate and thrive in Birmingham.
Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Community Engagement Officer will try to identify:
- What affects Central and Eastern European mental health and wellbeing
- What barriers are there to better mental health and wellbeing
- What are the barriers in accessing mental health and wellbeing support
This project will provide voice to the CEE communities and will highlight the importance of diverse and inclusive services which recognise the needs of migrant communities. We will engage with CEE communities via workshops, meetings, discussions, and individual consultations.
Funder: Birmingham City Council, Public Health