Organizational Biography

The Lantern Initiative is a Muslim-run grassroots Community Interest Company currently based across Peterborough and Leicester. We are run mainly by volunteers. Our objectives are to educate and raise awareness of mental health issues in the Muslim community, to help break down the associated stigma and to empower communities in seeking and accessing relevant support with their mental health and wellbeing.

Mission & Vision Statements

We feel passionate about mental health as a topic and are keen to see a change in community attitudes. We believe communities have the skills and ability to effect mindset and change, which is why we work at grassroots level to support them from within. The Lantern Initiative started from an idea to support women who had just had a baby and had no practical or emotional support around them. Some were suffering from postnatal depression and felt their families did not understand how they were feeling.

Services/Programs they Provide

• We facilitate and deliver events, workshops and seminars on Muslim mental health
• We host weekly Chai & Chat drop in sessions for Muslim women (Peterborough)
• We facilitate counselling sessions with qualified Muslim male and female therapists where there is a need and financial constraints are a barrier (dependent on resources)

• We signpost to appropriate mental health services suited to specific needs
• We work alongside local mental health support services in Peterborough to better meet the mental health needs of the local Muslim community
• We can provide ‘hand holding’ support if you are worried or unsure about how to access mental health support
• We provide consultation and advice on Muslim mental health to various organizations.

Areas of Strength/Expertise

Since that very first seminar event which we named Healing Minds, we have repeated the same programme across Peterborough, Croydon, Whitechapel in East London and Hackney in North London. We now receive requests from community groups in other towns and cities who wish to host our events, so we are working hard to get to a stage where we have the resources and people power to be able to meet these requests.