Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Carol Gosal

  • Inter Faith Celebrations Remember Community Champion

    Inter Faith Celebrations Remember Community Champion

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council organised an Inter Faith community event on Thursday 17th November 2022 which saw local partners, faith leaders and community members attend. The event took place at the Kent Adult Education Centre in Gravesham and marked National Inter Faith Week.

    The event was also an opportunity to commemorate the life of Mr Mohammed Aslam, one of the founders of the Gravesend and Dartford Muslim Association, a local community champion and avid interfaith supporter who passed away in June this year.

    Mr Aslam was a key figure in fostering long standing and fruitful partnerships with Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara and multiple local Churches, working to promote interfaith connections. As such, KECC, supported by Mr Aslam’s family felt that Interfaith Week served as the ideal time to reflect and commemorate the life of an individual of saw faith as a means of connecting people rather than separating them.

    Dignitaries and faith leaders alike spoke at the event around themes of unity and solidarity, celebrating Mr Aslam and Inter Faith Work in Gravesham. These included Deputy Lieutenant of Kent Dr Bagawara Vasudaven, Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Peter Scollard, Adam Holloway MP, Bishop Greg Kitsell Chair of the North Kent Interfaith Network, Reverend Michael Payne from St Aidan’s Church, Bilal Farooq Chair of the Gravesham and Dartford Muslim Association, Bal Cheema and Jagdev Virdee MBE from the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara.

    Community partners who also spoke at the event included former Headteacher Rosemary Dymond DL, Michelle Bramble Chair of the North Kent Caribbean Network, Farook Girach long-time friend of Mr Aslam as well as Carol Gosal of Rethink Mental Health. They were joined by former Kent Police District Commander for Gravesend and Dartford Phillip Painter and Akeel Kedoo former treasurer of the Gravesend and Dartford Muslim Association.

    At the end of the proceedings, Mr Aslam’s son Cllr Ejaz Aslam spoke to everyone gathered and expressed his deep thanks for commemorating his father in such a way, a way that reflects the diverse communities of the area and the message of interfaith that his father always promoted.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council who hosted the event commented, “I believe that National Interfaith Week was the perfect setting to not only remember a local pillar of the community but also talk about religious tolerance and everything that brings us together through faith. Mr Aslam for one, was an individual who stood for everyone, he championed their right practice their faith freely and see the tenants in each religion that brought us together. He supported the local Gurdwara and Churches and fundraised for various relief campaigns and causes regardless of faith. He was truly selfless and generous and I am proud that we were able to honour him in such a manner.”

  • Mental Health event brings Young People together

    Mental Health event brings Young People together

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council working in partnership with North Kent Caribbean Network and Rethink Sahayak delivered a mental health awareness event on Thursday 24th March designed to engage young people from diverse backgrounds.

    The event was delivered as part of an ongoing project commissioned by Porchlight and Kent County Council which aims to identify how mental health in young people has been impacted since the onset of the pandemic.

    The event was held at No 84 Eatery and over 25 young people had the opportunity to hear from speakers including Carol Gosal from Rethink, Tamsyn Phillips and Adam Littlefield from EK360 and Jennifer Kelly from North Kent MIND around shaping services to cater to young people from underrepresented communities as well as the importance of discussing mental health overall. The young people also heard from spoken word artist Nathanial Ogun who presented two poems around mental health.

    Also presented at the event by Gurvinder Sandher from KECC (Kent Equality Cohesion Council) was a report researched and published by KECC which features data captured from over 300 young people around their thoughts and reflections of mental health over the many lockdowns caused by the pandemic. The report looked at the themes that emerged as a result of the findings and some key issues that presented themselves were around social anxiety caused by prolonged lockdowns and the subsequent lack of social interaction. Also prevalent was the concern around the impact on education during the pandemic as well as lack of awareness of which services could be accessed for mental health support.

    The aim of the event was not only engage diverse young people but to encourage open dialogue around the challenges facing minority youth when it comes to mental health as well identifying perceived barriers when attempting to access health and support services.

    Gurvinder Sandher, CEO of KECC commented, “We are incredibly proud that we were able to deliver this important event working partners North Kent Caribbean Network and Rethink Sahayak. Mental health is something that has in some way shape or form, touched us or someone that we know. However, its not something that we know a great deal about in terms of where to go when we need help. This is particular prevalent in young people who openly acknowledging their struggles with mental health but don’t necessarily know where to go in terms of accessing tangible, dependable support. The aim of this event was to demystify this process and it was important that colleagues from MIND, Rethink and EK360 through their partnership with the NHS could contribute to the discussions around this. Special thanks go to all the young people that have generously given their time to contribute towards our report and overall project as well as No 84 who continue to do great community work by offering their premises for such important events.”

  • Listen Up Conference sparks important discussions

    Listen Up Conference sparks important discussions

    The communities of North Kent came out to attend a public conference around health and being called Listen Up on Thursday 10th March. Held at the Woodville in Gravesham and organised by the Kent Equality Cohesion Council in partnership with Rethink Sahayak, North Kent Caribbean Network and EK360, the aim of the conference was to raise awareness of issues such as suicide, substance abuse and mental health which have been impacting communities since the onset of the pandemic.

    Approximately 250 people attended the conference and heard presentations from speakers including Mandeep Manocha from Alcohol Free Sikhs, Sandeep Saib who spoke her lived experiences with body dysmorphia and attempted suicide and Tim Woodhouse from Kent County Council who covered a number of the services provided to tackle the issues discussed during the conference.

    Also speaking at the conference were Deputy Lord Lieutenant Dr Bhargawa Vasudaven, Acting Head of Community Services South, Carol Gosal, and Chair of the North Kent Caribbean Network, Michelle Bramble. They gave a community perspective on the issues discussed during the conference and some of the support available locally.

    The conference was concluded by Gurjit Singh Shokar’s emotional and hard hitting experience around the loss of his brother Amarjit Singh Shokar to suicide recently. Gurjit has been advocating for more work to be done to raise awareness of suicide prevention especially within ethnic minority communities as there is still a taboo around mental health.

    Furthermore, in recognition of the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine, fundraising was conducted during the conference and £950 was collected. The funds will be donated towards the Ukrainian relief efforts via the Disaster Emergency Committee.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “Since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen issues such as suicide and mental health reach new devastating levels. As such, we felt it necessary to hold this conference and reach as many people as we could from the local communities, to raise awareness as well as highlight the services and aid available. Our hope is that through the conference, if even one life can be saved, or someone suffering from mental health can find access to care, then we have done our job right. I am also grateful to everyone who donated to the Ukraine appeal on the night.”

    Carol Gosal, Acting Head of Community Services South commented, “We are really pleased to have been able to deliver this event and reach so many people. The topics discussed today are hard hitting and not easy to listen to but we have to make ourselves uncomfortable for the severity of the matter to really sink in. It’s vital that we talk about suicide and mental health and raise awareness. Special thanks go to our speakers who all made such important contributions.”

    Michelle Bramble, Chair of the North Kent Caribbean Network said, “We wholly believe that we need events like these to raise awareness and shine a light on subjects like suicide and mental health, subjects that aren’t necessarily talked about until it’s happening to you or someone you know. The aim of this event was to show people that it’s never too late to access help and support no matter where you are from. I am so happy so many people came out to support and it was particularly heartening to see members of the community reach out to speakers and thank them for sharing their stories. It’s indicative of the fact that on some level, the penny has dropped and people are listening and taking this seriously.”

  • Listen to Our Voices Women’s Event

    Listen to Our Voices Women’s Event

    Women’s Conference a Great Success

    The annual Sadi Awaz Suno (Listen to our Voices) conference took place on Friday November 24th at the Woodville in Gravesend. The aim of the women only event was to explore important issues which are not often discussed openly including mental health, on-line grooming, child disability, well-being and domestic abuse.

    The conference was organised by Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Rethink Mental Illness Sahayak Services with the support of the Gravesham Borough Council led Altogether Safer Project.

    The audience of around 300 were addressed by Assistant Chief Constable Jo Shiner from Kent Police who spoke about the work done around supporting victims of domestic abuse while Parmi Dheensa from Include Me Too spoke about child disability and how communities from the Indian Sub-continent deal with it. Local GP, Dr Manpinder Sahota spoke about well-being and mental health and how communities can help themselves and key note speakers Shahien Taj MBE from the Henna Foundation and Yasminara Khan from the BBC spoke about honour based crime and on-line grooming.

    The key message coming out of the event was the fact that there was support available locally and that if anyone needed any help or support they should not hesitate to ask for it.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented after the event “It is important that events like this take place so that there can be an open and informed discussion around issues such as mental health, domestic abuse, on-line grooming and honour based crime which we know affect members of the local community. Sometimes people do not know who to turn to for help and support and that is why we hold this event.

    According to Carol Gosal Rethink Mental Illness Service Manager for Kent “It is important that we all work together, communities, the authorities and local charities to raise awareness and provide support those who are experiencing issues relating to mental health and domestic abuse. Events like this are a step towards this and we look forward to working with our partners to make more positive strides over the coming months.”

    The event was part funded by the Home Office VAWG (Violence and Against Women and Girls) Transformation Fund through the Altogether Safer Partnership which is led by Gravesham Borough Council and includes Kent Equality Cohesion Council, Rethink, Dartford Borough Council, Kent Police and Choices.