By Elham Asaad Buaras
Better Community Business Network (BCBN) will hold its annual gala dinner in Mayfair, central London, later this month in support of the ‘Resilient Me’ programme, a unique project catering for the mental health and well-being needs of young Muslims.
Each year BCBN, a Muslim-led charity, focuses on different worthwhile community projects and partner with credible charities to adapt and deliver services to accommodate the needs and challenges of the UK’s Muslim community.
Religious hate crime has risen by 40 per cent in England and Wales, with more than half directed at Muslims and over 45 per cent of people surveyed in the UK have an unfavourable view towards Muslims as denoted by the European Islamophobia report (2016).
92 per cent of victims of hate crime, such as Islamophobia, report that they were “emotionally affected by the incident and are more than twice as likely to experience fear, difficulty sleeping, anxiety or panic attacks in comparison to victims of crime overall”, that’s according to the Hate Crime Policy Statement’ Report: Victims Support (2017).
There have been more than 2,500 counselling sessions in the last three years about racial and faith-based bullying (Faithful Counselling).
It is against this backdrop that BCBN has selected The Children’s Society as its charity partner this year to deliver the ‘Resilient Me’ Programme, a service designed to pilot a ‘whole school approach’ to better understand, recognise and support the mental health of young Muslims across schools and communities in London.
Working with its partners BCBN is currently developing an anti-bullying campaign and programme which addresses anti-Muslim rhetoric in schools and raises awareness on Muslim practices and identity to foster convergence, cross-cultural understanding, dialogue, religious literacy and understanding of Islam in schools.
The gala dinner which will be held in Mayfair on March 16 will provide an opportunity for business leaders, entrepreneurs and heads of charities, to network and support local community projects.
The event attracts over 600 professionals, a memorable evening of business networking, entertainment, exquisite dining and an occasion to demonstrate the generous nature of our business fraternity.