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What MENTER is
Regional network for Black / Minority Ethnic (BME) voluntary organisations and communities with 420 BME organisations on the mailing list Run by a voluntary management board of 20 trustees from member groups plus advisors from Race Equality Councils, Go-East, COVER (the general voluntary sector regional network) and Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum Funded by the Active Community Directorate of the Home Office, Go-East and EEDA (East of England Development Agency). Staff: Chief Officer, Support Services Co-ordinator, Partnership Officer and three County Outreach Development Officers. Each outreach officer works for one of the following areas: (1) Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Luton; (2) Cambridgeshire, Essex, Thurrock, Southend and Peterborough; (3) Norfolk and Suffolk. There are also 3 projects officers working on asylum seeker and refugee projects. MENTER is supported by an administrative team of staff and volunteers. Please click here for contact details.
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MENTER aims
To develop the BME sector; priority sectors are infrastructure support; health; education / employment / training / arts / culture / leisure / sport To promote race equality and advocate for the sector To build a strong and representative regional BME network
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MENTER target groups
- BME communities
- Asylum seekers / refugees
- Migrant workers
- Gypsies / Travellers
Each sector has distinct needs. There is no single large BME community in the East of England. Ethnic origins include African, Caribbean, Indian, Iranian, Israeli, Pakistani, Chinese, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Russian, Bangladeshi, and Irish among others. This has a great impact on the provision of services such as translation / interpretation.
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Issues affecting Communities
BME groups are not single service deliverers, but are dealing with a huge variety of issues
- Health (52% + 30% mental health)
- Education/training/employment
- Young people’s activities (21% operating for the under 25 yrs)
- Race discrimination
- Own language training
- Literacy & numeracy (26%)
- Religious facilities (25%)
- 62% have not been consulted on any issues of public service delivery in the past year
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Some MENTER achievements
a database of 350 BME organisations funding from EEDA for three county based outreach development workers till March 2007 a Go-East Community Safety Fund grant to set up a regional race equality network regional events on countering race discrimination and harassment regional events on community cohesion partnership work on community renewal and social inclusion development of a starter pack for new groups and factsheets on topics such as employment and finance links with the lottery (both the Community fund and Heritage lottery) to improve BME access to lottery funding links with Sports England, Eastern Region to improve BME access to sporting opportunities and funds for these established role in helping BME groups apply for the Community Champions fund Successful Regional Partnership Development project, providing training and support for multi-agency fora for refugees and asylum seekers in the Region. For more information, click here Successful 1City project in Peterborough, which has set up a successful mythbusting project using volunteers as community champions to raise awareness about refugee and asylum seeker issues
All MENTER achievements are publicised through a quarterly newsletter and through this website. If you would like to receive the newsletter by mail, please click here.
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MENTER Business Plan 2008-2011
Below is a summary of the business plan. If you would like to see the full version, please contact the Regional office.
The MENTER Vision
MENTER vision is for a future where inequalities are addressed, there is no racism and all Black / Minority Ethnic (BME) communities are properly valued for their contribution to the region and their participation in local democracy.
Why BME Needs are different
“There is now easily enough evidence to suggest that both nationally and in the East of England, in comparison to the White British population, people from BME communities are much more likely to face economic disadvantages associated with poverty and social exclusion; have generally lower incomes; are more likely to suffer income-related deprivation and poor health; and are more likely to live in poor-quality housing, disadvantaged neighbourhoods and areas with high rates of crime.”
MENTER Beneficiaries
MENTER works to benefit the following groups:
- BME communities and individuals
- Refugees and asylum seekers
- Migrant workers and new immigrant communities
- Gypsies and Travellers
MENTER Achievements
- A database of 500 BME organisations; improved information on the sector through three reports (a) a membership survey; (b) a compilation of relevant census data – Ethnicity in the East of England and (c) a report, funded by East of England Development Agency, on BME access to skills / employment and enterprise services including current policy and barriers facing BME communities.
Involvement in the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) - MENTER has a community stakeholder place on the assembly and representatives on EERA’s Health and Social Inclusion panel. Involvement in the Regional VCS Infrastructure Consortium (RVIC) and lead on the Equalities cluster looking at co-ordinating work in the region including the feasibility of a Regional Equalities Forum Recognised involvement in the development of regional strategies and consultation of MENTER members in this process Partner in a regional race equality network – the Regional Race Equality Council Partnership, including regional officers of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Links with Funding East, the regional funders’ forum, to improve BME access to funding A programme to improve BME access to sports and fitness opportunities, funded by Sport England East. Membership of the regional cultural consortium, Living East, to improve BME participation and access in arts and culture Membership of the Sustainable Development Round Table to influence the development of sustainable communities
MENTER Goals
The importance of the diversity of service provision and the need to respond to a range of issues affecting individuals is vital. A key MENTER goal is to work with partners to “personalise services” so that there is appropriate delivery for BME communities. “Personalising services” means both understanding the context behind the client e.g. class, age, culture etc but developing a service that is based on the individual. This means opening up assumptions about the client in order to respond to the range of needs that arise. So, for example, a client will not be treated as an “Asian woman” but as an individual with a range of needs some of which have been influenced through culture and gender. Having diversity at the heart of service provision is essential for those who are disadvantaged or facing ‘multiple disadvantage’ such as ethnicity, age, low qualifications and skills, and other negative outcomes such as poor health and housing. MENTER hopes to develop good practice guidance on how this can be done within mainstream provision.
MENTER Organisational Structure
MENTER is governed by a Board of Trustees who are elected in the following manner: two representatives from each of the six counties, one representative from each of the four unitary authorities, four co-opted places and four places for particular regional expertise. The Board has an executive arm, the Policy and Resources sub-committee with six members appointed by the Board. The Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer have automatic places. In addition, one member of this sub-committee is selected as Personnel Manager.
The staff team at MENTER consists of a Chief Officer, a Support Services Coordinator, four Strategic Development Officers, an Administrator, a Regional Equalities Partnerships Officer and a Sports Officer. The Strategic Development Officers ensure regional connection with each of the counties and neighbouring unitaries. In addition, a project funded by Connecting Communities and Lloyds TSB allow for three more staff to help develop partnerships among agencies providing services for refugees and migrant workers.
MENTER Funding
MENTER is funded by the following organisations
The Government’s Active Communities Directorate/Government Office for the East (GO-East)
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) Connecting Communities Plus Lloyds TSB Foundation Sport England East (partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation)
MENTER Strategic Functions
1. Advocate and catalyst for the BME sector
3. Influence on external policy and delivery
- Development of partnership work to achieve MENTER goals with annual review of effect
- National influence: links via the national BME partnership, Voice4Change England and the Infrastructure National Partnership, an advisory body for Capacitybuilders and the Office of the Third Sector
- Regional: Development of links with the Regional VCS Infrastructure Consortium (RVIC) and other regional networks; Contribution, as appropriate, to the development of regional policy and delivery
- Sub regional and local: Development of sub regional BME partnerships; partnership with the regional county infrastructure consortia;
- Development of a media and communications strategy
- CRE Interaction stage
Work Programme
Development of the BME Sector
- Community engagement
- Infrastructure support, development of BME fora and improved participation in local partnerships
- Projects to benefit particular needs e.g. refugees, migrant workers, Gypsies and Travellers
- Development of the BME evidence base
- Promotion of the COMPACT
- Consultation to collect views e.g. on regional policy documents
- Education / employment / enterprise
- Work with partners round ESOL and basic skills provision
- Workforce development within the sector
- Work with employers to promote in work opportunities for BME employees
- Development of work in education; support for the provision of complementary and supplementary schools
- Partnership work to ensure effective inclusion of BME communities in regeneration projects
- Partnership work with higher and further education providers to remove barriers that cause inequalities in achievements
- Development of advocacy programme to help employees who need this, e.g. those who are unable to find suitable employment that matches good qualifications and skills or those facing discrimination in employment
- Work with partners to improve opportunities for BME communities in volunteering, work placements, shadowing
- Development of good practice case studies and guidance for service providers e.g. effective personalisation of services
- Work with Business Links to ensure effective advice for BME entrepreneurs
- Development to aid BME access to contracts, social enterprise opportunities and income diversification
- Health, housing, social care
- Work to address health inequalities particularly with regard to older and vulnerable BME people
- Partnership work to improve BME access to affordable and decent housing
- Leisure, culture, arts, sports
- Partnership work to improve BME access to sports and fitness opportunities
- Information provision on culture and the development of sustainable communities
Promotion of Equalities and Advocacy for the BME Sector
- Work with the Regional Race Equality Councils Partnership to coordinate work on race equality in the region
- Work to develop a VCS network for all the equality strands
- Work to develop a cross sectoral equalities forum to coordinate equalities work in the region and form links with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
Building a Strong, Informed and Effective Regional Network
- Formalisation of MENTER communication and consultation strategy
- Promotion of leadership opportunities
- Programme to ensure voice of under represented groups e.g. young people
- Link with the national BME partnership to ensure local and regional BME concerns are heard in national policy development
- Information, advice and partnership work to ensure that the wider sector is informed of BME needs, contribution and potential
Ultimately MENTER success will be founded on tackling John Adam’s problem: “The poor man’s conscience is clear; yet he is ashamed … He is not disapproved, censured, or reproached; he is only not seen … To be wholly overlooked, and to know it, are intolerable”.
MENTER will do all it can to ensure that BME communities never experience the intolerability of being overlooked but instead, are valued as the essential contributors they are to this society.
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