Islington’s Labour-run Council has continued to deliver on its pledge to make the borough a more equal place by collaborating with the NHS to launch a new, innovative mental health programme which will help to create a better future for young Black men and boys.

Research shows that two thirds of permanent school exclusions are Black pupils, and 60 per cent of Black people in England feel that they are treated with less courtesy or respect as others because of their ethnicity. These inequalities have serious impacts on mental health – Black men in Britain are 17 times more likely than white men to be diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and four times more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

The three year programme, named “Young Black Men and Mental Health”, will see a holistic approach to addressing mental health issues among young Black males in Islington, with the aims of improving personal mental health and wellbeing, aspirations and life opportunities, while reducing exclusions.

The programme will include equipping barbers at five Islington barber shops with the skills to recognise that a customer may be struggling with their mental health, and point them towards appropriate support, ‘Becoming a Man’ programme which will be undertaken with three Islington secondary schools to support young Black boys with their long-term mental wellbeing, and community coaching for those aged 16 to 25 at risk of poor health outcomes, serious youth violence and exclusion from school.

Cllr Roulin Khondoker, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Equalities, Culture & Inclusion, said: “Our vision is for a more equal Islington, where everyone has the opportunity to start, live and age well, which is why mental health is so important to us.

“We know, though, that young Black men do not currently enjoy an equal opportunity to thrive, and are more likely to live in deprived neighbourhoods, be excluded from school, and be sectioned under the Mental Health Act. It’s so important that we act now to create a better, more equal future for young Black men, where they too can turn their dreams into a reality.

“The Young Black Men and Mental Health programme is key to achieving this. This holistic, pioneering programme, will help young Black men with the mental health challenges they face, and support them to create a better future.”

Cllr Jason Jackson, Islington Council ward councillor for Holloway, who has been heavily involved in the programme, said: “Growing up as a young Black man in London is extremely challenging – it can often feel like the world is stacked against you.

“The Young Black Men and Mental Health programme is designed to empower, guide and support young Black men and boys as they face these challenges. Through the programme, we’re taking on structural and institutional racism, to help shift the practices, assumptions, and perceptions that could be holding young Black men and boys back.”

To support the programme, Islington Council has worked with RAW London on a short film about the pressures of growing up as a young Black man in London. The video can be seen in full here.

The programme launch was also featured on BBC London news.