Dear Colleagues,
How is it March 6th already! The first quarter of the year seems to be flying by but hopefully this means the rain might stop.
Happy International Women’s Day which is officially on March 8th. The IWD theme this year is Give to Gain and groups up and down the country have been and are celebrating the day with all kinds of activities including seminars, conferences, networking and just coming together.
On 4th March we held our own IWD event and were thrilled to see so many people who wanted to network, share and be together. It was an inspiring event with people from across the city including staff from our Social Prescribing Team who took the opportunity to link up with people who are running or involved with groups.
The week prior, I attended day three of a three‑day online conference exploring Understanding Autistic Perception in Black and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, hosted by Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Community Connexions, and Community Partners.
The conference brought together autistic people, families, community organisations and professionals to look at longstanding inequalities in access, experience and outcomes across the Black Country.
It featured lived experiences from Black African, Black Caribbean and other minoritised ethnic communities, with sessions on autism diagnosis, education, health inequalities and employment. There were also focussed discussions on improving autism pathways and strengthening culturally informed support.
It’s great to see these issues being brought to the fore in a partnership approach; we need much more of this work to recognise and address the real complexities that exist for Black and Minoritised Ethnic Communities.
Finally, if there are any issues that you would like to raise or anything that you would like to hear more about, please contact me.
If you would like more information, please remember to check out our website and newsletter regularly – there is always new information, and opportunities are always presenting themselves.
Thank you,
Sharon Nanan-Sen
Chief Executive Officer