Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Barnardo's teams up with UK rappers to highlight Covid-19 mental health helpline

Barnardo's teams up with UK rappers to highlight Covid-19 mental health helpline

ON the occasion of World Music Day, Barnardo’s, the UK’s largest children’s charity, has teamed up with several leading UK rappers and poets to raise awareness of its Boloh helpline - a Covid-19 helpline service specifically for black, Asian and ethnic minority young people and their families.

The artists will mark the day by reflecting on the past year and share their experiences of the pandemic, on what has been a turbulent 15 months since the first national lockdown.


As part of the campaign, artists will share a piece of spoken word or rap on their social media platforms about their personal mental health experiences during the pandemic, to encourage their followers to seek help if they need it.

Rappers participating will include the 2021 Voice contestant Jason Hayles, Sheffield’s poet laureate Otis Mensah, the acclaimed UK rapper Lemzi, wordsmith TrueMendous, spoken word artist Terrell Lewis and the renowned south Asian rappers Premz and Hyphen.

Over the past year, due to the pandemic the mental health of young people have been impacted due to stress and anxiety. Especially people from black, Asian and ethnic minority communities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Recent study reveals black people are four times more likely to die of the virus compared to their white counterparts, and economic factors adding up to the existing inequalities.

However, one of the ways young people have been able to express and cope is through music, poetry and spoken word, and using it as a form to connect or escaping from the real-life situations.

Leethen Bartholomew, head of the Boloh helpline at Barnardo’s, said: "Music, rap and poetry are all tools which children and young people sometimes use to express and manage their grief and trauma.

“At Barnardo’s we hope that through the support of these inspirational artists, more young people will be empowered to talk openly about their mental well-being, and reach out for help when they need it.

“The Boloh helpline was created because of the problems faced by children, young people and their families who have been affected by the pandemic and lockdowns. As we look ahead, we want to ensure young people from all communities have the right support available to help them cope with their mental health.”

Barnardo’s ‘Boloh’ helpline is a bespoke service supporting black and Asian minority children, young people and their families. It is available for young people to access if they are struggling because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The service also provides therapeutic support, a live web chat facility, and a lifeline to communities dealing with issues such as isolation, stress, uncertainty about the future, sickness and bereavement, rising hate crime and loss of support services, and existing inequalities such as poverty, overcrowded housing and physical and mental health problems.

For more information on Boloh visit here.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less