Critical Frequency

Mental health reparations for Black queer men

Without community,
there is no liberation

A Mental Health Campaign for Black Queer Men in the UK
Dr. Rob Berkeley

Recent experience shows that change is possible when people work together for it. Big challenges demand big ambition—and offer big rewards. We're proposing what's never been attempted: mental health transformation at community scale, reaching 35,000 Black queer men, a group made vulnerable to a toxic mix of traumatic social pressures, through a 5-year, £10.5M investment in reparative justice. Not a pilot. Not a demonstration project. Comprehensive change across six sectors, backed by evidence, informed by experience, co-designed with those who'll benefit. This is what ambition looks like when communities lead. Thank you for taking the time to engage with these ideas. Read, respond, and join us in building the futures we deserve. #AllGoodThingsMustBegin

— Dr. Rob Berkeley, Director, BLKOUT

Research Briefing
Evidence Base
What the research shows about mental health, community, and systems change.
Evidence Base Essay
The Case for Mental Health Reparations
The same research evidence in flowing narrative prose—why reparations, not charity.
Policy Briefing
A Proposal
What transformation could look like, and what it would take.
Cost Model
The Numbers
How resources could be allocated for community healing and institutional change.
Outcomes Paper
How Change Happens
Why individual interventions become collective transformation.
Demographic Analysis
Who Are the UK's Black Queer Men?
Critical demographic analysis synthesizing Census data, asylum statistics, and age demographics to estimate 50,000-65,000 Black queer men in UK. Evidence base for understanding population scale, geographic distribution, and service delivery needs.
User Journeys
Five Lives Transformed
Impact narratives demonstrating how mental health reparations transform individual lives across diverse experiences—from crisis intervention to community leadership—over 5-year delivery and 10-year timeframes.
Podcast Pilot
Voices in Relay
A single pilot episode using innovative relay interview format where six participants rotate between interviewer and interviewee—embodying co-production values while introducing the mental health reparations proposal. 45 minutes of collective conversation creating democratic space for transformation.
Open Casting
Community Nominations
Help shape the conversation. Nominate voices from the community who should be invited to participate in the Voices in Relay podcast. Community endorsements inform the BLKOUT team's final curation decisions.

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