Somali Hayaan Project

Mind in Harrow

Where

When

Project availability

The activity runs from 1 December 2021 to 31 December 2022. The Young Harrow Foundation does not manage bookings for this activity and is not responsible for the delivery of the project. If you have any questions, please contact the organisation directly.

What

About the service

The term ‘Hayaan’ in Somali is a nomadic term meaning ‘Moving on to a better place’. The project offers an innovative approach to build up an infrastructure within the community by recruiting and training a team of ‘peer campaigners’ from the local Somali communities to help increase awareness of and access to mental health support to the wider Somali community living in Harrow.

The project aims to:

• Help reduce the sense of isolation experienced by Somalis with mental health difficulties
• Help increase well-being and self-confidence of Somali mental health service users
• Provide advocacy and interpreting support to Somali mental health service users to help them understand and access mental health and other social welfare services

What do we offer?

The project is open to members from the Somali community living in Harrow. You must be 18 years and over and affected by mental health issues or supporting someone (Carer) who is affected by mental health issues.

If you or someone you know is affected by emotional distress or mental health issues and you/ they are experiencing problems in accessing services or you/they don’t know what sort of help they can access you should contact us to attend our Group sessions or Advocacy:

Group Sessions: You can attend our free sessions run by an Advocate and Peer Educators, which we hold every month at Harrow Healthy Living Centre, 38-40 High Street, Wealdstone, HA3 7AE and at 202 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush W12 7JP fortnightly on Thursdays between 12-2.30pm. Refreshments are provided. The free sessions include ‘Information Meetings’ and ‘Support Sessions’.

Information Meetings: At these meetings we invite professionals to talk about relevant issues impacting the community to ensure that people are kept up to date with services they can access, and to have an opportunity to meet the professionals who can support them e.g. housing, Jobcentre Plus, Health professionals etc.

Support Sessions: These sessions are open to members of the community to act as a place where important issues are discussed and people offer mutual support.

Advocacy: Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, ensure their rights, present their interests and obtain services they need.

“We are so grateful to you! My son’s life changed after joining HAYAAN project.”

How to access

We accept self-referrals, which means if you are interested in getting involved or attending workshops or getting an advocate please contact Abdi Gure on 020 8515 7872 or email a.gure@mindinharrow.org.uk