Partisan

Our final blog is live 💛 Five years. 43 partner organisations. Countless relationships, conversations, and moments of genuine change. We looked at the way things were, refused to accept they couldn't be different, and built something with community. Imperfectly, but in the direction of something better. We gave it a go. And that will always matter. The seeds you carry are yours now. Keep planting. 🌱 Read the blog in full /blogs-news/closing-blog #Partisan #BlackMentalHealth #HealingJustice #CommunityLed #SystemsChange #BlackLed #AlternativeHelpSystems #TheSeeds

We made a film 🎬 Over two years, My Lewisham Changemakers aged 18–25 designed and led eight youth-led projects across Lewisham. They held the decision-making power, set the priorities, and showed us that safety isn't just the absence of harm. It's belonging. Creativity. Connection. Opportunity. This documentary tells that story. 149 young people reached. A body of work that will continue to grow long after Partisan. Check out the full documentary on our YouTube channel: /@Partisanuk_cic Huge thanks to @ourppls for bringing this to life on film. They've captured something that's hard to put into words, and done it beautifully. This is our final post as Partisan closes its doors. Five and a half years of community-led work, relationships, and learning. It has been a privilege, lots of seeds were planted. You can find out more about our work by: Checking out our website: partisanuk.org Reading our closing blog: /blogs-news/closing-blog Listening to The 4 R's podcast: /news-insights @londonvru @bbccin @tnlcommunityfund #YouthLed #CommunityLed #IncreasingSafety #CommunityPsychology #BlackMentalHealth #Partisan

🖤 Our final episode of The 4Rs is here 💛 The problem is clear: our current systems rarely value the time it takes to build trust and relationships. Yet trust is the foundation of meaningful change. Whether for individuals, communities, or entire systems. For Funto, Kyra and Millie, relationships are not an optional extra; they are the work. We know that relationships move at the speed of trust, and we honour that pace. Sometimes it feels like a two-step dance between process and relationship, but we take the time to understand our own relational patterns before stepping into the hard work of change together. We also recognise that ruptures are not failures but inevitable parts of life. That is why we invest deeply in the ongoing practice of repair, friendship and self-care. Relational learning is not always comfortable, but it is always transformational. The intention behind this podcast is for young people to be in conversation with each other and from various intersections of the community around Partisan’s 4 pillars. These are: 🔁 Relationships 💸 Redistribution 🌱 Regeneration 🛠️ Repair This series explores conversations between young people, Partisan staff, elders, clinicians, and community changemakers—from climate justice organisers to mental health advocates. It is a space for dialogue, connection, and redefining what support means in a world that has not always been fair. As Partisan closes, the work doesn’t end. Over the past five years, young people, partners, and communities have shown us what’s possible when support is built on trust, justice, and real relationships. The systems we imagined together are more human, more connected, more equitable and will continue through the people who shaped them. The learning, the practice, and the courage to do things differently lives on beyond this project. Thank you to everyone who walked with us. The legacy of Partisan isn’t an organisation, it's the relationships, the ideas, and the futures we’ve sparked together. Find out more @partisan_cic Access the resource pack for this series via the link in our bio 🔗 Artwork by @jh.illustrates 🎨

💛 How do we repair broken systems? 🔧 Episode 4 begins by acknowledging that the current system has harmed and continues to traumatise and marginalise racialised communities. For Millie and Reuben, repair is not a single act. It is a long-term, relational, and political commitment. It moves beyond service delivery into trust-building, truth-telling, and deep listening. It asks us to redefine what healing means, and crucially, who gets to define it. At its heart, repair is about staying in a relationship, even when it is hard, which it often is, and about naming harm, taking responsibility, and supporting people to live their preferred story. The intention behind this podcast is for young people to be in conversation with each other and from various intersections of the community around Partisan’s 4 pillars. These are: 🔁 Relationships 💸 Redistribution 🌱 Regeneration 🛠️ Repair This series explores conversations between young people, Partisan staff, elders, clinicians, and community change-makers, from climate justice organisers to mental health advocates. It is a space for dialogue, connection, and redefining what support means in a world that has not always been fair. Find out more @partisan_cic Access the resource pack for this series through the link in our bio 🔗 Artwork by @jh.illustrates 🖌️

💛 Episode 3 Regeneration is here! 🖤 To regenerate, we begin with a recognition. The current global system is extractive. It sustains white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and dominant narratives that deplete us. Dismissing wisdom held across cultures and generations, and oppresses our communities. Ruth and Michael Hamilton discuss how regeneration represents our refusal of that cycle. It is a change designed to last, sustained, retained, and built upon without burning people out. It is about working in ways that honour limits, grow capacity, and prioritise collective nourishment over depletion. Communities already hold vast ideas and strength. We draw on these, as well as ancestral and cultural wisdom. Guided by the Ghanaian principle of Sankofa, we return to recover what was lost, dismissed, or forgotten, and bring it forward with care, so that mistakes are not repeated. Regeneration is not just about sustaining work and productivity, it is about sustaining people, together. The intention behind this podcast is for young people to be in conversation with each other and from various intersections of the community around Partisan’s 4 pillars. These are: 🔁 Relationships 💸 Redistribution 🌱 Regeneration 🛠️ Repair This series explores conversations between young people, Partisan staff, elders, clinicians, and community changemakers, from climate justice organisers to mental health advocates. It is a space for dialogue, connection, and redefining what support means in a world that has not always been fair. Find out more @partisan_cic Access the resource pack for this series through the link in our bio 🔗 Artwork by @jh.illustrates ✏️

🖤 Episode 2: Redistribution is here! 💛 A few people, and a few institutions, currently hold most of the power, knowledge, and resources. We choose approaches that intentionally disrupt this imbalance, redistributing power to racially minoritised communities. Our two young hosts, Ruth and Millie, describe how redistribution is not only about fairness; it is also a strategy. Those most affected by injustice often hold the deepest insight, creativity, and solutions. When we fund, trust, and platform the voices at the margins, and respond to their needs, everyone benefits. True redistribution also means letting go of control. It calls us to step back so that others can step forward. It shifts not only where power sits, but also who decides, designs, and defines the future. The intention behind this podcast is for young people to be in conversation with each other and from various intersections of the community around Partisan’s 4 pillars. These are: 🔁 Relationships 💸 Redistribution 🌱 Regeneration 🛠️ Repair This series explores conversations between young people, Partisan staff, elders, clinicians, and community changemakers—from climate justice organisers to mental health advocates. It is a space for dialogue, connection, and redefining what support means in a world that has not always been fair. 👀 Find out more @partisan_cic Access the resource pack for this series via the link in our bio 🔗 This episode was recorded shortly after a Community Impact Weekend held by Partisan in Lewisham in May 2025 which episode host Millie attended. You can find out more by reading reflections on Partisan’s website 💛 Artwork by @jh.illustrates 🎨

Just a glimpse… Such a pleasure collaborating with @allthings.mentalhealth @partisan_cic #podcast #coverart #mentalwellbeing #community

🖤 Our Series: The 4Rs is here! 💛 All Things Mental Health and Partisan have teamed up for a new podcast that explores how young people in Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark in London are imagining mental health, justice, and care beyond our current, broken systems. The intention behind this podcast is for young people to be in conversation with each other and from various intersections of the community around Partisan’s 4 pillars. These are: 🔁 Relationships 💸 Redistribution 🌱 Regeneration 🛠️ Repair Conversations across each episode are guided by these pillars, which Partisan has been using for the last few years to transform how we organise, care, and build communities. This series explores conversations between young people, Partisan staff, elders, clinicians, and community changemakers, from climate justice organisers to mental health advocates. It is a space for dialogue, connection, and redefining what support means in a world that has not always been fair. Find out more @partisan_cic 💛 Listen now and access the resource pack for this series through the link in our bio 🔗 Thank you to our incredible artist @jh.illustrates for co-creating these designs with us 🖤

We brought Afroswing Pioneers, Artist @timbostp and Producer @ga_theproducer to run a @partisan_cic workshop, designed by us, with the next generation of talent @lzzorlizz @hoodceleb_nk @dee.wunnn The industry has changed so much over the years, in terms of access, technology and community. However, the heart, passion and sound carry the same spirit. In this session we asked Timbo and GA to share their rise in the industry, the challenges they faced and the opportunities young creatives can take advantage of now. After that they co-wrote and produced a song that one day you may hear 🥹 It was an honour for us at @ourppls to support with the workshop curation, production and talent sourcing Thank you to @runwayrecordingstudios for offering us the space We 💛 Partisan

This is a big moment. Young people in Lewisham have been building something powerful... and now you get a glimpse into how it came together. Real ideas, paired with real solutions and real Lewisham voices. 📽️ Captured at a pivotal Community Impact Weekend held last year, our new film shows young people coming together for a shared purpose: creating a safer Lewisham where everyone thrives. This is the work we've been doing on My Lewisham, through the @mayorofldn 's flagship #MyEnds initiative. Watch the full video on our website 🔥 /programmes/my-lewisham or link in bio 📲 Join the conversation. Comment below: what does safety look like to you? #MyEnds #MyLewisham #YouthLed #CommunityPower #LocalChange

Last month, at #NoizeNight, we witnessed the incredible power of Lewisham's young people coming together to make music, and enjoy a safe space together. 🎶🎵 Big shout out to all the young people who, in their own right, showed they are wordsmiths, singers, musicians, music producers, composers and more. **** What was Noize Night? Inspired by a young changemaker's idea for #Lewisham to have more spaces for young people's creative expression, #NoizeNight was a positive place for young people to go to make friends and be supported through music. The programme was developed by drummer and young MyLewisham changemaker, Dominic, Dr Naima Fowlis (Clinical Psychologist at Partisan) in collaboration with @lewishammusic , and facilitators @y.a.poet (Yasmin Ali), @nchambersmusic and @itsdrewarchie . The final showcase @lewyoutheatre also invited some of our core group of talented young performers who have been a massive part of the MyEnds journey over the last year. Dr Naima Fowlis said: "We often ask ourself, what does safety in Lewisham look/feel like? In this case, it's 11 young people performing in front of their peers, family and friends at a showcase featuring a setlist of original songs and spoken word pieces created over 3 days!" Dominic told us: "I created Noize Night because I wanted to use music to make Lewisham a safer place. Music's always been a big part of my life, and I wanted to turn that into something that brings people together, gives young people a safe space and sparks creativity." Still blown away by what happens when we come together with creativity and an openness to try something new. Photos: creative agency @ourppls and @lucyphilipphoto

Dear friends, followers and supporters, We're saddened to share this message with you all. After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close Partisan, with all delivery coming to an end at the end of March. We have not come to this decision lightly. It reflects a combination of factors that have built over time, including internal capacity, financial pressures and income losses. Read the full announcement on our website: /blogs-news/important-update or link in bio