No Wrong Door Grant
Addressing mental health inequalities in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight
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In 2023 The Arukah Project received 12-month grant from the ‘No Wrong Door’ initiative from the Hampshire and IoW Integrated Care Board (ICB). The grant addressed mental health inequalities across the Portsmouth and IoW regions. The focus of our delivery was to work with those in recovery from substance misuse and alcohol abuse and those struggling with mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression that often go hand-in-hand with addictions.
We held various events from workshops, attending meetings in partnership with other organisations and participated in the Portsmouth Recovery Film Festival.
Here are some of the highlights from the work that we did
Somerton Lodge, Sober Hotel, IoW - We ran a very successful 2-day stress-to-strength workshop over on the Isle of Wight. The workshop had a mix of people in long-term recovery, but also mental health care professionals. The session was well received and individuals have put their names forward for further training in the methodology.
In November 2023 we attended the Portsmouth Recovery Film Festival at Southsea Community Cinema and Arts Centre. The festival is an annual event lasting approximately a week in which different films are shown to celebrate recovery and reduce stigma. We ran a session and shared a film produced by Lori Layden, who is a practitioner and trauma therapist. The film is called ‘When I was young I said I would be happy”. The film was focused on the traumatic events following the Rwanda genocide but the positive aspects of how the community came together and the use of somatic tools and techniques to support healing and transformation. We also held a panel discussion, with acclaimed speakers such as Professor David Best, an internationally renowned Professor of Addiction Recovery and Arukah Advisor, and the two founders of the Peaceful Heart network; Ulf Sandström and Gunilla Hamne. The panel was chaired by our own Aga Kehinde. The following day, we ran a mini-tapping workshop to share the techniques with those who attended the film showing and other interested participants. 
United Minds, Portsmouth – United Minds is a men’s mental health group, and we were invited to one of their monthly evening sessions. We ran a mini Stress-to-Strength program which involved the sharing of techniques and psychoeducation.
