Black Minds Matter UK

Pardner Hand

£0,479

FUNDS RAISED

057

MEMBERS

JOIN US IN SUPPORTING

Therapy: We assess and match Black individuals and families to Black therapists

Awareness: We create and share resources, run workshops and deliver talks aimed at educating the community about Mental Health and Mental Illness

Advocacy: We advocate for transformational systems change with an aim to influence policy

Standing Firm in Power and Pride – Black Minds Matter UK Pardner Hand - 100K challenge

In 2020, we made a promise: to stand firm with the Black community by providing free, culturally appropriate mental health services. We set out to ensure that every individual has the chance not just to recover, but to truly thrive. Since then, together we’ve raised over £3 million, delivered thousands of free therapy sessions, and supported hundreds of individuals on their journey to healing.

Now, as we celebrate this milestone during Black History Month 2025: Standing Firm in Power and Pride, we are building on the legacy of resilience, unity, and pride embodied by the Windrush Generation. They carried strength across oceans, laying the foundations of community networks that still sustain us today. One of those traditions is the Pardner Hand.

Known across the Caribbean and African diaspora as Pardner, Susu, Sou-Sou, or Ajo, this system is rooted in trust, accountability, and community strength. It is a collective way of pooling resources so that everyone can stand firm together. Today, we are drawing on this legacy to launch something powerful. The Black Minds Matter UK Pardner Hand – a fund to support the Black community with their mental health, built by us, for us.

Mental health difficulties cannot be addressed in isolation. Healing is a collective act. And when we stand together in power and pride, we transform lives. With over 600 people currently on our waiting list to receive culturally appropriate therapy, we’re asking for your help to deliver the next phase of funding, because we can’t do this without YOU!

By joining the Pardner Hand, you’ll become part of a growing community of trailblazers committed to reshaping Black mental health and investing in a community asset that will be available for now and in the future.

We’re inviting you to pay forward. With just £1 a month or more, your Pardner contribution will help us reshape the mental health landscape for Black communities across the UK,  building a future where we stand tall, rooted in pride, and united in healing.

Want to learn more about our Pardner Hand? Check out the FAQs below.

Bronze statue of a man and a woman holding hands, standing on suitcases, with a message about hope, courage, and building in the context of Windrush Day 2025, accompanied by Black Minds Matter UK logo.
A graphic with a quote about legacy and caring for each other, showing a blue illustration of a group of people on a ship, with words 'Shore Windrush London' beneath it, and a message in green, yellow, and red saying 'We remember. We honour. We keep showing up.' from Black Minds Matter UK.
A poster for Windrush Day 2025 featuring silhouettes of a man and a woman with a quote about legacy and care, with additional text emphasizing remembrance, honor, and persistence, and a logo at the bottom left reading 'Black Minds Matter UK'.

 FAQs

  • On 22 June 1948, the HMT Empire Windrush brought hundreds of Commonwealth citizens from the Caribbean to help rebuild Britain after the war.

    Despite their hard work, many were denied bank accounts and loans because they had no UK credit history, making things like buying a home nearly impossible. So, the community pulled together and created Pardner Hand, a simple, trust-based savings club where everyone chipped in to help each other get ahead.

  • The Pardner Hand is rooted in traditions of mutual support within Black communities, where people come together to pool resources and uplift one another. By using this model, we’re not only raising funds but also building solidarity and accountability. It reflects the belief that mental health is not an isolated journey but a collective act of healing.

  • On 6th May 2025, we reopened our therapy waiting list. Just four months later, over 600 people joined the waiting list for help. That’s 600 lives on hold, families, friends, and futures, all in need of support. Meeting this need will cost over £1 million, but right now, our budget only stretches to help a little over 200 people.

    We can’t leave the rest behind. And we can’t do this without you.

    That’s why we’re asking you to stand with us. By joining our Pardner community, and giving as little as £1 a month, you can be part of a movement of 100,000 people raising £100,000 every month. Together, we can clear the waiting list and make sure no one is left without the therapy they deserve today, and for generations to come.

  • Your contribution goes directly towards providing free, culturally appropriate therapy sessions for Black individuals across the UK.

    Just like in a traditional pardner, your monthly contribution helps someone today, and builds a system that can support you or your loved ones tomorrow.

    Even £1 a month helps us extend access to life-changing support.

  • In addition to your monthly contribution, you can support the Pardner Hand by spreading the word within your networks, family, friends, workplaces, and community groups. Every conversation helps break the stigma around mental health and brings more people into the Pardner Hand community.

    Click here to select an image and Share our campaign on your socials

  • This campaign draws on the Caribbean Pardner hand tradition, but differs in one key aspect: contributions / donations are gifts that remain with BMMUK and are not returned to donors. The money remains in the fund to provide therapy for the Black community. Unlike the original system, there is no drawdown.

  • Yes, absolutely! Sharing stories of how traditions like Pardner Hand, Susu, or Ajo shaped and supported your family is at the heart of this campaign. These stories honour the resilience of the Windrush generation and show how community care, trust, and solidarity have always been part of our heritage.

    By sharing your story, you’re helping to connect past to present — showing how the spirit of Pardner Hand lives on today as we build a Black mental health fund, by us, for us.

    You can share your story in three ways:

    Email us at BMMUK info@blackmindsmatteruk.com

    Tag us in your post and use the hashtag #BMMUKPardnerHand

    DM us directly on our social channels

    Your voice helps inspire others to join this community and stand firm in power and pride.

Bronze sculpture of three African American individuals, a man, a woman, and a girl, standing on a base with suitcases at their feet, holding hands and looking forward.