THELMA MATILDA ALVES FOUNDATION

Thelma Matilda Alves Foundation is a charity focused on the mental health and well-being of women of African and Caribbean descent.

With your donations, we will keep delivering all of our services and developing new programmes to support black women in England.

Why we do it:

Racism and discrimination in mainstream mental health services have resulted in women of African and Caribbean descent not receiving good mental health care. The Mental Health Foundation concludes that due to the lack of adequate and sufficient data on Black people, they are most likely to be misdiagnosed and under-diagnosed, and they receive and have access to fewer treatments. Black women in particular have lower treatment rates despite the fact that they are one of the most marginalised and disadvantaged groups in the UK.

• 29% of black women have a common mental health disorder in comparison to 24% of Asian women, 21% of white British women, and 16% of white other women – Weareagenda.org
• Women of African and Caribbean descent experience higher rates of mental health disorders than white women but are less likely to receive treatment - weareagenda.org
• 7% of Black adults reported receiving any treatment  (medication, counselling, or therapy) in comparison to 14% of White British adults - Race Disparity Audit 2018

Thelma Matilda Alves Foundation Objectives:

Advance - The education for the public benefit among mental health practitioners and women of African/Caribbean descent who have an interest in mental health, by:

a) the provision of training, workshops, events and resources designed to aid understanding of how mental health manifests in women of African/Caribbean descent and their experience of accessing mental healthcare services and to support the delivery of appropriate mental healthcare services for them;

b) the provision of bursaries and awards to support women of African/Caribbean descent who are studying for professional qualifications to enable them to become mental health practitioners.

Preserve and protect - The mental and emotional health of African/Caribbean descent women by providing mental health resources, including, where appropriate, access to professional counselling.

Our Aims

By 2025, we want to:

• Help over 500 women of African or Caribbean descent directly through our services
• Help over 1000 women of African or Caribbean descent indirectly through our services
• Sponsor 20 women of African or Caribbean descent to attend private counselling or therapy
• Award 16 bursaries to women of African or Caribbean descent studying to become mental health practitioners
• Hold 15 school career and education talks
• Hold at least two support and networking lunches for women of African or Caribbean descent
• Hold at least four Knowledge Exchange Workshops for community groups, churches, universities, and mental health professionals.
• Educate mainstream mental health services about the issues concerning
• women of African or Caribbean descent wellbeing.

Join the TMAF Community

Sat 18th June at 11:30 am to 13:00 pm 

Following our Black Motherhood and mental health session in February. There was a clear need for more time and space to share, discuss, connect and heal. Every month we will be holding a virtual group to discuss black motherhood and mothers.

 We will be running a mixture of sessions that cover theory and ideas about black motherhood and mothering. As well as providing space for black women to share their personal stories and experiences being a mother or about their mothers/mother figures.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creating-wellness-dealing-with-trauma-dealing-with-mental-health-tickets-157937239535?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Thelma Matilda Alves Foundation

Tel: 07979193637  l Email: [email protected]

Charity Reg. No. 1192780

Website: https://www.thelmamatildaalvesfoundation.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThelmaMatila

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