Second phase of Hackney Thinking Spaces to launch next month

We are pleased to announce the launch of the second phase of Hackney Thinking Spaces (HTS), following the initial success of the project by Hackney Council and I Found Me Therapeutic Counselling. 

Hackney Thinking Spaces is a 12 month joint community based initiative, which aims to create safe spaces for discussing and dealing with the emotional impact of racism on residents’ mental health. 

One of the aims of the Thinking Spaces groups is to develop a set of community-based solutions to the issues discussed to influence tangible system-change. These will then be moved forward by a newly established Community Advisory Board (CAB), made up of Hackney residents. 

The project first launched in March 2024 as a direct response to events of systemic racism, which have profoundly impacted Black and Global Majority children, young people and families in Hackney. 

Residents from a range of ethnicities, cultures and religions have been involved in the Thinking Spaces programme so far. The curated safe spaces have helped people talk about how discrimination in the past and racism today have created an urgent need for action.

A participant attending a session for Black and Global Majority men, said: “This is a space that has been long overdue! Talking to the other men in the group helped me to realise I wasn’t alone in my feelings.”

Another attendee from a women's group said: “We should have more groups like this all the time. It’s been inspirational learning about successful Black and Global Majority Women.”

Each session is led by I Found Me’s qualified therapists and volunteers, and each workshop combines interactive learning with practical exercises to empower young women.

The new phase will begin on July 1 and there are currently sessions available for anyone from a Black or Global Majority background who is aged 14+. 

To find out more and register, please visit: https://hackney.gov.uk/hackney-thinking-spaces

The primary purpose of the Community Advisory Board is to facilitate active community involvement in the decision-making processes, ensuring that the 'Hackney Thinking Spaces' initiative is reflective of the needs, concerns, and aspirations of the local residents.

Patrick Vernon OBE has been appointed as Chair of the Community Advisory Board

 I am incredibly pleased at the initial success of the Hackney Thinking Spaces, and am really happy to hear that residents have found the sessions helpful. It is so important to have these safe spaces where people can speak about their lived experience of systemic racism.  

I hope that even more people will participate in the upcoming sessions and find ways of healing together.

Dr Sandra Husbands, Director of Public Health for Hackney and the City

I have witnessed myself how healing and important the Hackney Thinking Spaces programme has been. Each session has bought joy, tears, laughter and healing.

I'm a very strong believer that positioning makes change. If you want change, be in the spaces where you can actually make change. One way that you can do that is to register or find out more about the groups.

Emily Lewis, Service Director of I Found Me Therapeutic Counselling