Support Black women, Black LGBTQ+ and Black Non-binary folk: key findings for Mental Health Awareness Month

It's Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme is loneliness.
 
Over the years, the state of our mental health has made its way to centre stage within the Black community and we couldn't be more for it! From finances to childhood trauma, we're identifying and drawing out the key things that affect our mental health on a daily basis.
 
We recently conducted a surveys through our My Moon Landing initiative to find out how Black women, those in the LGBTQ+ community and those who identify as non-binary to get some insight into what affects their mental health and how they tend to cope with it. 

This Mental Health Awareness Month we are calling for a state of emergency on the Mental Health of Black women, Black LGBTQ+ and Black non-binary people. ​

Here are some of the key findings from our community:​

1. Based on the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Health and Wellbeing Scale:
   1. ​‘I’ve been feeling optimistic about the future’ - 46% of respondents said this statement was true some of the time.
   2. ‘I’ve been feeling useful’ - 46% said this is true some of the time
   3. ‘I’ve been feeling relaxed’ - 34% said this is rarely true
   4. ‘I’ve had energy to spare’ - 34% said this is rarely true
   5. ‘I’ve been dealing with problems well’ - 51% said this is true some of the time
   6. ‘I’ve been thinking clearly’ - 57% said this is true some of the time
   7. ‘I’ve been feeling good about myself’ - 51% said this is true some of the time
2. 46% of respondents have experienced generalised anxiety disorder; 27% have experienced depression. 80% indicated that these and other issues were not diagnosed by their health practitioners.
3. 20% of respondents have monthly called in sick or cancelled time with friends due to their mental health status over the past 12 months [3% each do so daily or every couple of days].​
4. 22% of respondents indicated that they spent ‘no’ to 4 hours a month on self-care; 29% spent between 11 to 30 hours.
5. 26% of respondents strongly agree that ‘My finances have a significant impact on my quality of life and satisfaction with myself.’
6. 66% of respondents strongly agree that ‘My career has a significant impact on my quality of life and satisfaction with myself.'
7. Respondents are most likely to reach out to their friends (43%) for support and comfort when having bad mental health days.

My Moon Landing identifies and supports the entrepreneurial and leadership development of Black women, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people. We catalyse community development by developing grassroots leaders to better serve their communities and create opportunities for better local services for underserved groups. By focusing on the whole person we develop and deliver training that increases financial freedom and develops leadership skills that our participants can use to make the world their oyster. 

As a community, Black people are very rarely provided with the level of tools and resources needed to ensure that we are able to succeed and thrive in our local community. We are minorities in our workplaces and neighbourhoods and depend on these spaces to engage with us effectively, compassionately and empathetically. However, if these institutions are underfunded and unsupported to integrate better fit services to ensure all residents of the local community are involved and engaged, the Black community will continue to bear the brunt of the fallible systems that have led to statistics such as 1 in 4 Black women experience mental health disorders (Office of National Statistics) which is more than any other demographic group. 

We are isolated, unsupported and the organisations directed towards us are entirely under-funded. 

This Mental Health Awareness Month we are calling for a state of emergency on the Mental Health of Black women, Black LGBTQ+ and Black non-binary people.