‘Digging Deep’: The Ipamo Project, 1995-2002
Introduction
Melba Wilsons collection spans over 40 years of Melba Wilson’s work in national and regional mental health programmes, policy units and services, including grassroots and community activism alongside formal policy work and leadership. As part of the project we are creating digital outputs, which delve further into the stories and legacies of Black mental health initiatives in the UK.
Through Melba’s papers, we can better understand what Black and minority ethnic Mental Health activism looked like, and why it was needed. This exhibit is intended to offer an introduction to the pioneering work of Black and minority ethnic mental health initiatives in the archive collection of Melba Wilson, through the story of the Ipamo project.
From ‘Ipamo, The Building of a Black Alternative to Hospital, Wilson/1
“We will consider the construction of the archive as our starting point, seeking to surface the lived experiences and amplify the voices of those who have been involved in collective action within mental health practice and bring this to the forefront”