Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Listen Up Conference

  • Community Health and Wellbeing Conference at the Woodville

    Community Health and Wellbeing Conference at the Woodville

    Communities from across Gravesham and Dartford came out to attend the second Listen Up Health and Wellbeing Conference on Thursday 30th March. The conference was held at the Woodville and was organised by Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Rethink Sahayak.

    The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of issues such as violence against women and girls, suicide prevention, alcohol abuse and physical and mental wellbeing especially in later life.

    Approximately 200 people attended the conference and heard presentations from speakers including the Head of Public for Kent County Council Dr Anjan Ghosh, renowned musician and rehabilitated alcoholic Bhupinder Singh and founder Championing of Youth Minds Tanya Marwaha.

    Also speaking at the conference were Deputy Lord Lieutenant Dr Bhargawa Vasudaven, a retired local GP who gave his perspective on the importance of good health especially in later life, as well as Sam Phillips from Involve Kent who spoke about the work she has been leading on in Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley to support over 55’s with leading active lives, supporting wellbeing.

    There was also an opportunity for attendees to receive free blood pressure checks, take part in consultation undertaken by the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board as well as learning more about what support is available locally around violence against women and girls.

    The conference was supported by a range of partners including Involve Kent, Office of the Police Crime Commissioner, KKB Group and Gravesham Borough Council.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “Events like this are so important as everyone, young or old seems to live busier lives. This is a time to pause, reflect and understand the importance of physical and mental wellbeing. It’s also an opportunity for members of the local community to understand what level of support is available to them. The pandemic underlined the vast health inequalities that exist and events like these we hope, provide better understand and access.”

    Carol Service, Service Manager for Rethink Sahayak commented, “I have been working in the field of community mental health for over 25 years and what I have learnt over that time is that events like these will always be integral and vital to the local communities that we serve. As a specialist provider for minoritised communities it is clear that more still needs to be done around developing understanding of good mental health and wellbeing and events like these we hope will break down barriers and raise awareness.”

  • 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.”