Features / Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2022
Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2022, Day 13: Nilaari
On day 13 of Bristol24/7’s Charity Advent Calendar, we are shining a light on Nilaari – a charity with two decades of experience in offering culturally responsive mental health services in Bristol.
Based on Stapleton Road, the organisation provides talking therapies and puts on support groups for adults and young people – lending social support to those dealing with reoffending behaviour, mental health and problematic substance abuse.
It is is ‘black-led’, meaning a host of diverse staff incorporate cultural sensitivity into work to accommodate and respect differences.
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This allows for a stronger understanding of a person of colour’s background, ethnicity, and belief systems, the charity says, and in some instances, a therapist might share a specific language and cultural background of a client.
By offering talking therapies and training to adults and young people all over Bristol, Nilaari strives to help people fulfil their full potential
Its name, Nilaari, is a West African word meaning ‘self-worth’, encompassing the vision that the charity has.
Starting as a drug and alcohol service that used to deliver drug awareness sessions in schools and other organisations, Nilaari set out a new vision to tackle the roots of the problems they were seeing.
Now the organisation offers a range of structured psychosocial interventions that supports people of colour, striving to tackle “the entrenched stigma and discrimination experienced by our community”.
Its services include:
- 1-2-1 talking therapies
- peer support groups
- 1-2-1 key working support
- telephone support services
- online peer support groups
https://twitter.com/Nilaari1/status/1363571807350054912
Chief executive Jean Smith: “Over the coming months, we plan to focus on the mental health of men living locally.
“According to the Samaritans, men are three to four times more likely to die by suicide than women in the UK.
“Furthermore less well-off men living in deprived areas are up to ten times more likely to die of suicide than men living in more affluent locations and are less likely to reach out and access psychological therapies.
“We aim to provide more effective interventions to support men who are struggling.”
Black Men Talk Health is an online peer support group providing men with a safe space to come together with shared experiences to support each other. The Men’s Grounded Course is a six-session course for men which explores the concept of masculinity and how it contributes to shaping an individual’s identity.
All photos: Nilaari
Read next:
- Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2022, Day 12: Art Refugee UK
- Ward profiles 2021, Lawrence Hill: ‘Our difference is our strength’
- Paving the way for BAME led TV in Bristol and the South West
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