THE CULTURAL INCLUSION NETWORK (CIN)
1 June 2023
Following its inception in January 2022, the Cultural Inclusion Network (CIN) is celebrating 18 months of fantastic achievements.
The network was created following an outcry from VCSE grassroots organisations who felt less valued and less heard; these organisations serve (and are from) ethnic minority communities.
The CIN provides a platform to strengthen the position of these organisations through raising opportunities to represent the sector in key strategic meetings/Boards, building relationships between both voluntary sector organisations and public sector, and increasing resource opportunity.
Through this platform, the small (and often unknown) grassroots organisations can genuinely shape and influence decision making, improving patient experience, and leading to a reduction in health inequalities for our ethnic minority communities across Coventry and Warwickshire.
Key achievements in the last 18 months include:
- Organisations were funded to input into the National 10 Year Plan for Mental Health Call for Evidence – this report was considered at a national level by Department of Health, and locally we promote organisations utilising the recommendations outlined
- CIN members now hold seats on VCSE MH Alliance Board
- CIN members hold a seat on Mental Health Collaborative
- The CIN have opportunity to present quarterly at the Community Mental Health Transformation Board
- Colleagues across the system are aware of the CIN and ask to attend to present their work, acknowledging need for inclusion. This continues to provide opportunity for funding, coproduction, and participation in service redesign.
Funding for these projects, which supported over 400 people, was provided by the ICB and Coventry & Warwickshire Partnership Trust. We will be sharing more news and information about the CIN in the coming months, but if you are a VCSE organisation and would like to get involved with CIN then you can do so by contacting Virginia Muchena - virginia.muchena@nhs.net or Lexi Ireland - Lexi.Ireland1@covwarkpt.nhs.uk