SCIE Resource guide 10: Commissioning and providing mental health advocacy for African and Caribbean men

Specialist knowledge of cultural, language, heritage and day-to-day issues.

Awareness and shared experience of race issues and racism, including detailed knowledge of anomalies in care and treatment of black people in mental health services.

Both of the above combine to enhance the extent that advocates and partners can identify with each other and form trusting, supportive advocacy relationships.

More likely to be sensitively and/or conveniently located for benefit of relevant community.

Connection and ownership by the community.

Even an African and Caribbean focus may not fully recognise the diversity within African and Caribbean communities.

Insecurities of funding commonplace, adversely affecting capacity.

Limited capacity may, in turn, limit range of advocacy activities.

Relative absence of second-tier advocacy organisations existing to promote services and build capacity.

As above. Also co-location with other specific mental health provision facilitates personal development and recovery.

Different approach enables advocacy to be picked up as part of a wider helping role, enhancing the quality of the alliance/relationship between client and caseworker.

Relatively few such organisations exist in the broader picture of national mental health services. Those that do are often under-resourced or facing insecure futures.

Separate services are in and of themselves a barrier to a more inclusive mainstream service.

While well-placed to offer independent advocacy across mainstream mental health services, the ACMHS case workers face a problem of independence if the advocacy issue arises in their own service.

As above.

Capacity, and potentially choices, increased through access to a broader pool of advocates.

Profile within – and consequently ownership by – the community may be weaker.