BME project names broad range of partners

The announcement of the first four partners for the MHF's Black and Minority Ethnic men and mental health project demonstrates clearly the project's intention to reach out into all sections of the community.

The first focus groups, which are to begin shortly, will seek the views of men from Irish, African, African Caribbean and Chinese communities. Other focus groups will follow.

The four partners named for this first phase are:

• The Irish Healthy Living Centre — a London-based organisation set up in March 2004 in response to wide spread evidence of poor health amongst the Irish population in London and Britain.
• Mellow - a pioneering East London-based NHS programme launched in 2000 to improve the experience of African and Caribbean people with mental health problems and to promote their well-being within the community.
• The Chinese Mental Health Association — founded in 1992 to provide direct services, increase mental health awareness and represent the wide spectrum of Chinese mental health issues in public forums and in the overall Chinese community.
• The Male Development Service — an organisation committed to the prevention of male social exclusion in all its forms which grew out of the the award-winning boys2MEN Project and is headed up by Melvyn Davis who founded boys2MEN in 1998.

David Robertson who is coordinating the project for the Forum says: 'we have made contact with a range of voluntary and statutory organisations that work effectively with BME communities and are delighted to be working with all these partners and drawing on their breadth of expertise and experience'.

• Full details on the BME men and mental health project.