1. Community Engagement: Meeting the needs of a diverse client group
Yaser Mir
International School for Communities, Rights and Inclusion (ISCRI), UCLan

2. Background
UCLan has a history of engaging communities to meet diverse needs:
Department of Health - Substance Misuse
HMP – Prisons
Home Office/Welsh Assembly – DIP and Criminal Justice*
NIMHE/CSIP – Mental Health
New Scotland Yard – Citizen Focused Policing
Aimhigher – Higher Education

3. “SOUTH ASIAN: WEST MIDLANDS: MY EXPERIENCE”
MAJOR RELIGIONS COUNTRY/REGION OF ORIGIN
* Islam * Pakistan * Bangladesh
* Hinduism * India * East Africa
* Sikhism * Sri Lanka
* Buddhism
LANGUAGES & DIALECTS
* Hindi * Gujarati * Urdu * Bengali * Bihari
* Punjabi * Sindhi * Pushto * Syleti * Farshi
* Hinku * Kutchi * Boluchi * Marathi * Telugu
AGES AND GENERATIONS
1st Generation – 2nd Generation – 3rd Generation – 4th Generation
DUAL HERITAGE
GENDER / SEXUALITY / DISABILITY 3

4. UCLan Research
Department of Health’s Black and minority ethnic drug misuse needs assessment
Data from a sample of 17,000
Drug Interventions Programme Black and minority ethnic community engagement programme 2006
Data from a sample of 370 service users

5. Barriers to drug service access: data from Department of Health’s Black and minority ethnic drug misuse needs assessment project
Although the drug-using patterns amongst minority ethnic communities are not different from those of the whole population,
it doesn’t follow that they can simply 'slot into' existing drug services
Responses may have to be different in order that the barriers to drug service access that they face can be overcome

6. Distrust of confidentiality Language
Barriers to drug service access: data from Department of Health’s Black and minority ethnic drug misuse needs assessment project
Lack of awareness of the range of drug services and the help they can offer
Stigma
It brings so much shame to the family within the community, people just look down on you, they think the whole family is bad. The drug user won’t get a marriage proposal, and neither will the sisters if their brother is a drug user. (Drug user’s sister)
Distrust of confidentiality
Language
Drug services’ lack of cultural competence

7. Key findings: DIP Black and minority ethnic community engagement programme 2006
Treatment engagement
‘No, staff no support for cultural problems & spiritual crisis’
‘No, lack of cultural identification/empathy & understanding’
Staff attitudes – dignity and respect
‘Couldn’t give a shit. I am Black, parents poor they did not care’.
‘They are not culturally empathic, there’s no fairness of treatment, a lot of distrust with them, cultural identification is important, and experience of empathy is too’.
Sensitivity to cultural and religious needs
Harm minimisation versus abstinence
Haram (non-permitted) versus Halal (permitted)
Compatible with faith and belief systems

8. Key Recommendations: DIP Black and minority ethnic community engagement programme 2006
commissioning, planning and delivery of services
Faith based and spiritual approaches
part of a range of abstinence based options
Commissioning
BME (ex) service users involvement
Workforce
culturally competent, (ex) service users,
reflect the make up of local communities
equality and human rights training
Family and carer support
Drugs education and prevention messages

9. Communities and agencies working together experience and outcome
Community Engagement
Facilitated
Supported
Resourced
Trained
Communities and agencies working together
Raising
awareness
Generating
ownership
equitable services =
improved access,
experience and outcome
Reducing
stigma, denial
& fear
Sustaining
engagement
Assessing
need
Developing
workforce
Increasing
trust
Articulating
need
Building
capacity 9

10. CASE STUDY: BLACK AND ASIAN SERVICE IN ALCOHOL AND NARCOTICS (BASIAN)
Example of Good Practice
CASE STUDY:
BLACK AND ASIAN SERVICE IN ALCOHOL AND NARCOTICS
(BASIAN)
Shahid Farid
BASIAN CO-FOUNDER 10

11. What does this mean for you?
OVER TO YOU!!
What does this mean for you?
What can/should you do?
What is stopping you? 11