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Roundtable on Mental Health app ‘Shout’ with Google and Mental Health Innovations

This month, Abena hosted an important roundtable discussion in Parliament alongside Google and Mental Health Innovations, a charity supported by Google.

The aim was to explore the potential of AI in enhancing the efficiency of Mental Health Innovations’ (MHI) digital support service, Shout. The gathering brought together parliamentarians, Shout beneficiaries, senior representatives from MHI and Google, as well as Professor Peter Fonagy OBE, Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at UCL.

One of the key outcomes of the discussion was Google.org’s commitment to supporting MHI’s with funding to leverage AI in improving their flagship service- Shout. Shout is a text message service providing free, 24/7 mental health support to anyone in the UK.

During the roundtable, Parliamentarians received tailored reports for their respective regions, shedding light on the utilization of the Shout support service and the prevalent mental health issues in those areas. The focus was on exploring how digital services can augment mental health support and better cater to vulnerable groups across the UK.

Abena was joined by other Parliamentarians including Tracey Crouch MP, Liz Twist MP, Jeff Smith MP, and Andy Slaughter MP, who contributed valuable insights from their experiences supporting constituents through mental health challenges, while understanding the ways in which young people seek support through AI Tech enabled platforms such as text services and AI chatbots.

One of the most poignant moments of the discussion was hearing the parents of a 12-year-old girl who benefited from the service and from Emily, a dedicated volunteer at Shout. Their testimonials highlighted the profound impact of tech-based mental health services, such as text support and AI chatbots, in reaching and aiding vulnerable individuals.

Google’s Vice President of Product Management also spoke about how Google Search directs vulnerable individuals towards the help they need, and Professor Fonagy spoke on the transformative potential of machine learning and AI in crisis intervention.

This roundtable highlighted the collaborative efforts between policymakers, tech giants, and mental health experts in harnessing technology to address mental health challenges.

Abena Oppong-Asare, Shadow Minister for Women’s Health and Mental Health said:

“It was a pleasure to join Google and Mental Health Innovations today in parliament to discuss the important subject of mental health. The services provided by the charity are vital for those suffering with their mental health and I’m pleased Google.org is providing the financial resources to help develop the use of AI to optimise and improve the efficiency of their flagship service Shout.”

Photos

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Winner of My Christmas Card Competition 2023

I am once again very pleased to announce that I’ve been holding a constituency competition to design my annual Christmas Card for 2023. I invited students from schools across Erith and Thamesmead to take part.

The theme for this year was: ‘What Makes Me Happy in Erith and Thamesmead’. I would like to thank all the pupils who drew and painted a design that showed what they love about places in our constituency. This included the parks or open spaces, local communities, shops, landmarks, animals or even family and friends.

The artwork was assessed by a panel of judges, and the winning design has been used as my Christmas Card and sent to more than 1,000 local people, businesses, and community groups. 

We had a brilliant turnout for this competition with so many excellent designs being sent in. I’d also like to say a massive thank you to all the schools, teachers and parents who helped organise the competition.

Attached is a photo of me meeting with the Speaker of the House to showcase the winning design, he was very impressed by the competition and has put the winning design on display!

Congratulations to this year’s winner, Mija Liumpa, aged 10, from Parkway Primary School. You can see Mija and myself below with her winning design.

To complement the design, Mija wrote a few words:

“I chose to draw this as it reminds me of nature and the mulberry tree of Abbey Wood ruins. It is an amazing place which calms me, and I can meet many dogs there which is also why I chose to draw them. It is one of my favourite places of calmness and my favourite place in Erith.”

It was great to visit the students of Parkway Primary School in person this week, and hand Mija her well-deserved prize as overall winner of the competition.

Thanks also to the local co-sponsors who kindly supported part of this year’s competition – Co-op Belvedere and Manak Solicitors.

Congratulations again to Mija and I wish a Merry Christmas to all.

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New Kitchen at the Javan Coker Foundation

I was also very pleased to join the Javan Coker Foundation (JCF) this month as they celebrated the installation of their newly refurbished kitchen at the JCF centre.

Alongside the Council Leader, Cllr Anthony Okereke, it was lovely to join the team for the opening and hear about all the great work they have been doing to support children and families in need.

If you would like to find out more about the charity and what they are doing in our community, then you can find their website here: https://www.thejavancokerfoundation.org/.

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Remembrance Sunday

This November, I was honoured to lay wreaths at Thamesmead War memorial followed by the War memorial at Plumstead Cemetery in remembrance of all those from Erith & Thamesmead who gave their lives to protect our freedom. On Remembrance Sunday, I also went to the Wreath laying at Callender’s Cables Memorial.

Thank you to Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Royal British Legions for arranging the services and for all the work they do throughout the year.

Earlier in the month, I was also honoured to place a poppy in Parliament’s Garden of Remembrance on behalf of the residents of Erith and Thamesmead.

We shall never forget those who bravely served and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

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Cambridge University’s Black History Month Dinner

I was delighted to attend the recent Black History Month Dinner at Cambridge University alongside Naomi Campbell and friends, old and new. 

The dinner was a great celebration of Black Britons and Black British History, and I was so pleased to meet so many inspiring people there.

I want to thank the hosts of this event – Simon Wooley, the Principal of Homerton College and also the President of the Cambridge University African Caribbean Society, Michael Lawson-Falomo for hosting such a fantastic evening.

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Defibrillator and CPR Training in Parliament

After my Parliamentary debate on increasing public access to Defibrillators in July, awareness is increasing, and more training is now becoming available.

It was great to have so many members of Parliament and staff learning about this lifesaving training and these devices. I hope that we can continue to spread the message of awareness around the whole country and save lives as a result.

This event comes after the good news in September about the new defibrillator at Lesnes Abbey Lodge. A big thank you to Lesnes Abbey Friends who worked so hard to make that happen and for inviting me to see the new device.

Thanks especially to the Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle for hosting the event in Parliament and also to the London Ambulance Service for providing the training.

Let’s continue to push for progress.

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Visit to Windrush School

It was great to join pupils from Year 6 at Windrush Primary School in Thamesmead this month. It was really nice to be grilled by them on what I’ve been doing as an MP and hear about why they love living in our local community.

A big thanks to the school for inviting me and I look forward to coming back again soon.

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Launch of The Voice Newspaper’s Black British Voices Report

At the end of September, I was so pleased to chair the launch of the landmark survey on Black British Voices by The Voice Newspaper in the Houses of Parliament.

This ground-breaking report and its findings are shocking but to many they will not be surprising. The report details the results of the largest ever survey of Black Britons – surveying over 10,000 people. It reveals the concerns felt by so many about racism across our country and within our core institutions.

Following this report, I’ve been pleased to share the findings with my colleagues in Parliament and with the Government. I hope that everyone can take on board this vital research and raise awareness of racial injustices wherever it is found.

You can read the full report here.

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Visit to Lakeside Open Studio

Lovely to pop into Lakeside Studios in Thamesmead to attend their fantastic Open Studio Event. It was very nice to celebrate this amazing space and to hear from some of the artists about their work.

If you don’t know already, this venue is listed as one of the top 10 must-see buildings this year by Architects’ Journal.

I would highly recommend everyone tries to visit if you haven’t already.

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Abena’s Summer School 2023

I’ve been delighted last month to hold my third annual Campaign Summer School.

At my jam-packed 3-day event, we had a fantastic group of enthusiastic and inspiring young people who were incredibly engaged in learning about how to make a successful campaign and gain the skills needed to make a real difference in our community.

On the first day, I was excited to share my journey to Parliament and what I do as the MP for Erith and Thamesmead. We were also privileged to be joined by Laura Coryton and Rima Amin, who shared their 5 steps for turning a petition into a successful campaign. Laura founded a campaign against the tampon tax in 2014 and Rima worked with Laura on the campaign when she worked at Change.org. We were also joined by Paul Richards who shared his expertise on writing press releases and Christine Quigley and Nick Smith who introduced the students to the world of finance and public affairs.

“Our campaign lobbied the government into establishing the tampon tax fund, through which almost £100m has been donated to female-focused charities”

Laura Coryton on her campaign against tampon tax

On day two, we were joined by Google, who shared how to navigate and make full use of the new digital age to build on campaign ideas, business ideas, and how to kickstart your career. It was also great to be joined by Kwajo Tweneboa who shared his first-hand experience of going from a concerned citizen to a veteran campaigner on housing issues across the country. We were also pleased to welcome Katie Perrior from iNHouse Communications and media experts from 853 and the Guardian, who shared their important knowledge on how to make a campaign successful.

We started the final day with a presentation about how Parliament works with a special briefing from an expert team at the UK Parliament. It was great to see the students ask so many questions about how our government works and how each of them can personally make a difference. I also want to thank Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of Greenwich Council, Martin Angus, from the Local Government Association (LGA), and Councillor Zainab Asumramu for sharing their important personal insights into the role of Local Government and how to get politically active in your local community.

Every year this is such a special week for me. I get to spend lots of time sharing what I know about campaigning and Politics and learning from local young activists across our community who care passionately about a number of critically important issues.

From national issues like Climate Change and the cost-of-living crisis, to local issues like vaping in schools and tackling fly-tipping, it was fantastic to discuss their ideas about what they can do to campaign for change.

I want to send a big thank you to all the speakers who joined during the week, to London South East College team in Erith, who hosted us, and to my team who did a wonderful job making the Summer School work so well. Finally, I also want to send a big thank you to all the students who were so engaged and optimistic and I’m sure will go on to do great things in their careers.

You can follow what happened on my social media or by looking up the hashtag #AbenaSummerSchool2023.

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