Work In Our Localities
BT Global
About the Thriving Futures Collective Members
Black Thrive Lambeth
Black Thrive Lambeth (BTL) was formed in 2016 to address the inequalities that negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of Black people in Lambeth. They are a partnership between communities, statutory organisations, voluntary groups and the private sector. They work collaboratively to reduce the inequalities that lead to poorer socioeconomic outcomes for Black communities in the borough and initiate the systems change required to see Black residents thrive. Since its inception BTL has been involved in community engagement and grassroots activism particularly around the use of force used by the Police. While it is the BTL Communities team that works actively with the Thriving Futures Collective, other Lambeth project streams include; Children, Young People and Families, Employment, LGBTQ+ and Adult Mental Health.
Black Thrive Haringey
Mind in Haringey was established in 1974 with the initial vision of ensuring local people with mental health problems could have somewhere to go to meet and mix with other people as a form of social support. They work in partnership with Haringey Council, Haringey CCG/NHS and are committed to collaborations with community and voluntary organisations. In 2020 Mind in Haringey joined the Black Thrive network as Black Thrive Haringey (BTH) to help address the systemic inequalities facing Black communities. As part of the Thriving Futures Collective BTH will seek to continue to work collaboratively with people, projects and organisations in Haringey to improve outcomes for all Black communities within the borough.
Black Thrive Birmingham
Catalyst 4 Change began in 2016 by founding directors Sandra Griffiths and Tippa Naphtali with the powerful mission of strengthening the capacity of voluntary, grassroots and user-led organisations to ensure the right care, at the right time and in the right place. Adopting the role of ‘positive deviants’ they plan to avoid some of the familiar concerns related to the mental health experiences of African and Caribbean communities. In 2020 Catalyst 4 Change joined the Black Thrive network as Black Thrive Birmingham to foster an environment in which Black communities can thrive. The expansion of Black Thrive in Birmingham will enable the key learnings from projects to support the outstanding work of Catalyst 4 Change and other existing organisations in the West Midlands.
Research Institute and Observatory
The Research Institute and Observatory launched in 2021 with the purpose of developing evidence to support Black Thrives systems change activities by bringing decolonial perspectives to knowledge production processes which underpin the policy landscape. They are committed to ensuring that they summarise and communicate their findings, and other research, that adequately speaks to the Black experience. In all that they do they ensure to centre the knowledge and perspectives of Black people with a critical decolonial approach to dominant research paradigms as an epistemic foundation.
