“’This was an innovative programme that we knew was necessary in an area as diverse as economically challenging as inner-city Birmingham. Lack of opportunity and deprivation can lead to involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour. This leads to divided and broken communities. When individuals in these communities lose hope, they are vulnerable to reduced levels of mental health and, in some cases, are exposed to extremist views that threaten the safety and stability of communities. We delivered a hard hitting project that delivered real outcomes and changed our local community, for the better.”
Paddy Benson
Chief Executive
Target
To reduce the number of people holding attitudes, beliefs and feelings which oppose shared values.
Funded by
“As the Coordinator for BSBT, I am proud to say that during this project I observed a range of different ethnic groups working together to build positive relationships within the community. By the end of the project negative beliefs had either been reduced or removed completely and friendships were formed.”
BSBT coordinators
The Fit Mind Programme, recruited and engage people from across Birmingham that are suffering from mental health illness. The project will work in partnership with eighteen specialist mental health organisations, the Police and the Local Authority in order to identify people that are at risk of being influenced by extremist propaganda and who are vulnerable to developing extremist views. The project will use the power of sport to engage people into the project with a part time specialist project worker delivering both group and one to one interventions to reduce the likelihood of participants developing extremists views or positions.
The programme consisted of
- Four, twelve-week, personal development courses, which formed the basis of our programme structure.
- Weekly support groups, that encouraged integration, understanding and open dialogue.
- Conducted one to one support, looking at individual requirements more closely.
- Provided personal awareness workshops, sourcing specialist skills to cover topics such as internet safety, trust, understanding diverse communities and awareness of grooming.
Project targets
- Reduce the likelihood of participants developing extremist views
- Improve the knowledge of project participants so they can recognise extremist views
- Increase the safety of participants
- Improve mental health levels among participants
- Encourage a better understanding between different faiths and ethnicities
- Reduce the number of people holding attitudes, beliefs and feelings that oppose shared values
Outcomes
- 100% of attendees reduced the likelihood of developing extremist views
- 100% of participants improved their knowledge, meaning they can now recognise extremist views and online messages
- 75% of participants said they improved their mental health levels
- 78% of attendees said they now have a better understanding of different faiths and ethnicities
