On November 15th 2024, Migrants Organise alongside Doughty Street Chambers hosted a groundbreaking Migrants and Mental Health Disability conference in London.
The all day event was attended by over 100 people in London and online and was a vital step in building collective rights based infrastructures for migrants with disabilities and serious mental health conditions.
Best practices for immigration and court of protection professionals.
At Migrants Organise, under our Community Programme and the Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy (MMCA) project, we have developed specialist expertise in assisting migrants including people seeking asylum who have complex mental health needs.
With the ongoing hostile environment agenda, the need for nuanced discussions on how to address the mental health and the disability needs of migrants has never been more pressing.
Many of our members have difficulties in engaging with the complex immigration policies system and this is exacerbated when people experience serious mental health conditions and disabilities.
Building collective knowledge
This conference was a meaningful opportunity for us to come together with legal professionals, colleagues from statutory services as well as volunteers and supporters, who have worked with us over the past years to build our knowledge and experience.
Together we shared experiences and challenges, and explored ways of working together to build an immigration system that is truly accessible to all individuals, including those with mental health disabilities.
The conference featured a line-up of distinguished speakers including Professor Dinesh, Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience King’s College London, and a well-known authority on cross-cultural psychiatry and migrant mental health among other specialisms. Other topics covered during the conference included:
- Facilitating effective multi-agency coordination
- Identifying immigration issues within health and social care
- Supporting migrants detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and on discharge
- Using the Court of Protection as an immigration practitioner
- Practical migration issues in the Court of Protection: capacity and best interests
- Mental capacity in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chambers)
- Immigration applications for Discretionary Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
- Advancing trauma-informed and client-centred practice
The Migrant and Mental Health Disability Conference was a vital space for exploring how the intersection of immigration, mental health, and disability impacts individuals and communities.
The event underscored the urgency of creating inclusive and compassionate legal and healthcare systems that can respond to the unique needs of migrants, particularly those facing mental health challenges or disabilities.
For more information contact Brian@migrantsorganise.org
Migrants Organise began the Migrants Mental Capacity Advocacy (MMCA) Project in 2017 and is still the only project of its kind in the UK. We provide tailored and holistic direct support to migrants with complex mental health whilst pushing for systemic changes through organising, capacity building, policy and strategic litigation. For more resources, reports and info check out the MMCA page.
