October is an important month as it marks World Mental Health Day and Black History Month. These two themes were explored at a brilliant webinar on anti-racist perspectives and the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) role. Shantel Thomas and Neil Sanyal share reflections on allyship and what it means for all involved in improving lives of those who experience racism in our society.
Diana Katoto is a student at the University of Birmingham, studying a BA Social Work. She has a passion for social justice and prides herself on promoting human rights. The tragic death of George Floyd in the United States has prompted her to write this heartfelt and challenging blog. Diana tasks our social work profession - and by extension all other UK based institutions and networks - to be louder in our condemnation and take active steps to combat racism wherever we find it.
Over the past few days, those of us in the Office of the Chief Social Worker for Adults and the Office of the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families have been shocked and horrified by the death of George Floyd. The subsequent outpouring of anger, despair and emotion that has followed has focused our minds once again on the presence of racism and intolerance in our societies.