Building the Barricades (ES/S000720/1) Follow-On: mobilising research on mental health and substance use in Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro

Lead Research Organisation: Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Drama

Abstract

This proposal arises from a unique opportunity to bring the research findings from Building the Barricades (ES/S000720/1) to new audiences. In the absence of medical interventions and social assistance in Maré, the studies undertaken in the original research have drawn attention to the importance of active participation in art and cultural activities for individuals' recovery from mental health disorders as well as to build mental health resilience and wellbeing. The follow-on proposal will use arts-based methodologies (live performance, installation and visual arts) to extend the impact of the research, whilst simultaneously contributing to increased well-being amongst the citizens of the Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro.

The project's existing research has already engaged the international academic community through an ongoing series of publications, research seminars and conferences. The focus will now be on engaging general audiences as well as key stakeholders committed to, and responsible for, the delivery of mental health and well-being services in Rio de Janeiro and Latin America. The project will establish a Mental Health Committee in Rio de Janeiro, made up of 15 representatives from civil society organisations and government agencies delivering health care provision in Maré, who will develop recommendations based on the original research findings and advocate for health policy reform to improve provision in Maré. In collaboration with FIOCRUZ, we will host three roundtable debates, further engaging civil society organisations as well as city, state and federal agencies addressing the mental health consequences for residents of territories like Maré with the research. The research team will also host a knowledge exchange visit, sharing methodologies and the research findings with civil society organisations working in fragile territories in Bogotá, Lima and Buenos Aires as part of a regional network on arts and mental health established by HERITAGE and PRIEBE (Co-I).

This follow-on proposal will activate a range of voices in the interpretation and dissemination of the research. Working with the civil society and research organisation Maré Development Networks (MDN), the proposal will ensure that the research findings continue to register with the community in Complexo da Maré, a territory of 16 favelas in Rio de Janeiro which is home to over 140,000 residents. Over the past 18 months, the combined British and Brazilian research team have built an inter-disciplinary analytical and methodological framework that bridges geographical, social and disciplinary borders. One strand of the original research has used arts-based practices to produce narratives and images that challenge stigma and exclusion associated with Mental, Neurological and Substance Use (MNS) disorders. These practices included workshops and events (live and online) with residents from Maré and poets, musicians, photographers and visual artists. Alongside the research, members of the team also established a choir for those who frequent the open-use crack sites. The success of these creative initiatives has opened up unexpected opportunities to explore integrated ways to produce and disseminate learning between the various agents involved in this multidisciplinary research and a diverse range of new audiences beyond academia. Multiplicidade, one of Rio's leading international arts festivals, has invited HERITAGE (PI) to create a performance/installation based on the research findings at the Biblioteca Parque Estadual in October 2021. Provisionally entitled 'Mais Becos', this performance/installation will be directed by a leading Brazilian contemporary musician working with popular art-forms, music and photography, and engage 31 community-based arts initiatives mapped during the original research, including the choir, and over 1,000 residents from Maré.
 
Description As part of this research project, we have worked together with the NGO Redes da Maré to create the first Mental Health Awareness week in Maré, a complex of 16 favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After the completion of the research project and its funding, Redes da Maré went on to sustain the initiative for a second year and produced the 2nd Mental Health Awareness week in Maré during 2022, which consisted of a series of workshops led by mental health professionals, arts practitioners, social services professionals and others to discuss the mental health of residents and alternatives sources of support. Discussions and repercussions from the first mental health awareness week pointed towards a need to provide appropriate support to professionals working in community-based organisations who might face distressful situations with users, be it episodes of severe stress, mental health crisis, trauma, etc. To address this, we have developed a Mental Health First Aid toolkit and training, which was first piloted during the II Mental Health Awareness Week of Maré, and offered to Redes da Maré's staff and facilitators of the other workshops part of the programme. As a result, People's Palace Projects is already in talks with other community-based organisations to expand the training to other favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
First Year Of Impact 2022
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Societal

 
Description Active Ingredients - Agency: developing a sense of agency through social action
Amount £44,533 (GBP)
Organisation Wellcome Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 06/2021 
End 11/2021
 
Description Brazil Accelerator Fund, Cultural Strategies in Manguinhos: a study of life trajectories and local social networks as tools for promoting mental health
Amount £6,820 (GBP)
Organisation Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) 
Sector Public
Country Brazil
Start 03/2023 
End 02/2024
 
Description Brazil Accelerator Fund: Cultural Strategies in Manguinhos: a study of life trajectories and local social networks as tools for promoting mental health
Amount £6,980 (GBP)
Organisation Getulio Vargas Foundation 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country Brazil
Start 03/2023 
End 02/2024
 
Description Edital: E_06/2023 - Programa Apoio à Organização de Eventos Científicos, Tecnológicos e de Inovação no RJ
Amount R$ 103,000 (BRL)
Organisation Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 
Sector Private
Country Brazil
Start 03/2024 
 
Description Impact Accelerator Account: HSS Impact Awards 2022-23
Amount £50,000 (GBP)
Organisation Queen Mary University of London 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2023 
End 07/2023
 
Description Launch of Creative Tile Wall on Mental Health 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Official launch of the tile wall produced from workshops held during the First Week of Mental Health at Maré, in 2021. The event also featured a performance by poets Jonathan Panta, Mc Martina, Math de Araújo, Thainá Iná, Thaís Ayomide and the musician Rafael Rocha, based on the BECOS podcast. Available at: www.becos.art.br
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL http://www.becos.art.br
 
Description Mental Health First Aid Training - Helping the helpers, caring for the carers 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Training for staff and partners of Redes da Maré and Rema Maré II workshops. The training was carried out in two sessions and presented the content of the booklet "Mental Health First Aid - Helping the helpers, caring for the carers" through a dialogic method, valuing the exchange of knowledge and experience among the 50 participants. The objective of the training was to qualify mediators, artists, etc., to provide initial MH support for anyone professionals usually interact with through their services, projects and practices.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.redesdamare.org.br/en/info/69/rema-mare
 
Description Mental Health First Aid Training - Helping the helpers, caring for the carers (II) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact From May to July 2023, People's Palace Projects (PPP) conducted six "Mental Health First Aid - Helping the Helpers, Caring for the Carers" training sessions in two Brazilian states: Rio de Janeiro and Goiás. Four training sessions were exclusively for one organisation each, and two were open to the communities. The main organisations and community mediators were supported by PPP to publicise the training to their audiences.

The six trainings in Brazil were carried out with the participation of the local communities. During this process, the methodology used for the training was adapted and improved with the support of local mental health professionals who work within the communities and have extensive experience with and knowledge of the target audiences. They worked with a PPP researcher to prepare the material (presentation) and methodology for each training session, and also co-facilitated them. The printed version of the booklet was distributed during the training sessions and was the starting point for adapting the training for each audience and context.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Mental Health First Aid Training - Helping the helpers, caring for the carers (III) - in schools 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The Maré Mental Health and Education Week was held on 25 and 26 September at the CE Professor Joao Borges De Moraes and Ciep 326 Professor César Pernetta high schools. Two "Mental Health First Aid - helping the helpers, caring for the carers" training sessions were offered to teachers, other school-related professionals and students at the institutions. The activity had the support of Redes da Maré.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Mental Health and Education Week in Maré 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact The 1st Mental Health and Education Week in Maré, led by Redes da Maré, was an evolution of the annual Mental Health Awareness Week in Maré that was started with PPP as part of the Building the Barricades Follow-On. It brought the mental health discussion into schools, where the MH toolkit training was also delivered.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Roundtables to showcase findings from Building the Barricades 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Three roundtables presenting findings from the research project 'Building the Barricades' to local third sector organisations and residents from Maré.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/building-the-barricades/
 
Description Visits to Performance/Installation with artists from Maré - Becos 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact More than 100 people - including school students, local residents, mental health professionals, representatives from local community-based organisations, and substance users accessing social services provided by Redes da Maré - attended the live performance 'Becos: A Poetic Immersion in 10 Movements', brought to stage by five poets from Maré and neighbouring favelas of Rio and musician Rafael Rocha.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/building-the-barricades/
 
Description Webinars to share research with relevant agencies and institutions 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Two webinars to share research with relevant agencies and institutions and discuss ways to take the research forward.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/building-the-barricades/
 
Description Workshop Cultural strategies in Manguinhos: mental health care and the leadership of favela residents 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The Workshop Cultural strategies in Manguinhos: mental health care and the leadership of favela residents was based on the research project "Cultural strategies as alternatives for social inclusion of vulnerable populations in the field of public policies on mental disorders and drugs: a case study in the community of Manguinhos" developed by LAPS-Fiocruz, FGV and Queen Mary University of London. The workshop was held by four artists and cultural activists from the Manguinhos favela complex. Franciele Campos (Women of the Wind), Graciara Silva (Stars of Mandela), Bruno Martins de Souza (Manguinhos Creates) and Luis Cassiano Silva (Green Roof Favela) spoke about their work, the political and social role of these activities and cultural groups, and how they impact the lives of their beneficiaries and the community in general. Based on their history and activities, they debated cultural and mental health production in favela territories in general.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://peoplespalaceprojects.org.uk/en/projects/manguinhos-cultural-strategy-as-a-tool-for-social-i...