Features / Video

Raising awareness about mental health in Bristol’s Somali community

By Aphra Evans  Monday Dec 16, 2019

The Somali community suffers disproportionate of mental ill health, yet Somalis are very unlikely to access mental health services until crisis point.

There is not even a word to describe mental illness in the Somali language. The only word that exists is waali, which is the same as ‘crazy’.

A recent event for young people in Bristol aimed to raise awareness about mental health. The hope is that they will bring the information back home to their families and start to break down the barriers between the community and the city’s mental health services.

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Read more: Overcoming barriers: autism in the Somali community

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