The Value of Culturally Competent Peer Support
– Taimour Ahmed, Project Lead for Taraki’s Cha in the City Programme
November is a special month for me because it marks half a decade of my journey with Taraki. In the space of 5 years, I have transitioned and grown from an attendee of Taraki’s peer support spaces to someone who now leads the international scaling of their peer support model called ‘Cha in the City’ to countries such as Canada and Australia. I still remember attending my first Taraki peer support space for Punjabi men in November 2019 at London Bridge. While I remember the first space I attended with rose-tinted glasses, as I am doing much better in life now, it’s worth noting that it was a challenging period for me, mentally and emotionally. In that year, I had tried therapy and struggled with the experience.
It was an incompatible match with my therapist combined with my lack of emotional maturity – I simply wasn’t ready to be open and vulnerable. While therapy didn’t go as I had imagined, it sparked a desire in me to seek safety through social connection because of my loneliness. I felt disconnected from my community as a young South Asian man. During this time, I made a beautiful connection with Shuranjeet, the founder of Taraki, who invited me to my first peer support space.
Being in a space with other Punjabi men, discussing subjects through a lens that fit our diverse lived experiences, felt genuinely welcoming. Beyond feeling seen, the social aspect was transformative – getting burgers after the sessions and maintaining those connections fulfilled exactly what I had been searching for.
Today, as Project Lead at Taraki, I oversee the international scaling of the same model that has profoundly changed my life. While I never imagined being in this position – having initially joined just hoping to find new friends – my journey from attendee to Project Lead has given me unique insights into the benefits of our model and peer support in general, which I can summarize below.
Our Purpose: The purpose of our ‘Cha in the City’ peer support model is to provide preventative care rooted in cultural competency. In simple terms, we believe that Punjabi men who feel socially connected and equipped with the right tools to navigate their emotional and mental wellbeing will achieve better health outcomes – not only for themselves but for their communities and wider society.
Our Approach: Our work is grounded in Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), which ‘builds on the assets that are found in the community and mobilizes individuals, associations, and institutions to come together to realise and develop their strengths.’
We apply this framework through a Punjabi cultural lens, focusing on the existing strengths within our communities. For example, we build upon the traditional Punjabi practice of hosting communal spaces where people gather for conversation – what we see as the foundation of informal peer support.
Our Impact: Movember granted funding to our peer support model in August 2021 to address social isolation and loneliness among Punjabi men through peer support facilitation training. In the three years since then, thanks to renewed funding in August 2023, we have trained over 40 Punjabi men in peer support facilitation. Working with key partners, we’ve established programs in Birmingham, Leeds, and Surrey BC, Canada, where our trained facilitators now deliver peer support in their local communities.
Our movement of trained Punjabi peer support facilitators continues to grow beyond my initial expectations. Looking back over these five years, my hopes and dreams – both for myself and for this movement – continue to grow bolder and ultimately happier.