Welfare

BME

In College Support

If you ever have any worries or would like someone to talk to, please contact the JP BME Officer at jpethmin@pem.cam.ac.uk

Pembroke have a college BAME counsellor you can request: Ishtla Singh (UKCP registered and accredited psychoanalytical psychotherapist)

To stay up to date with BME welfare events including socials and movie nights, join the Pembroke BME Network Facebook group here

Whilst the above mechanisms are available specifically for BME students, please do not hesitate to access other forms of welfare support. This includes your Tutor and the College Nurses (jan.brighting@pem.cam.ac.uk and rebecca.walton@pem.cam.ac.uk) who may refer you to the college counselling service. You can also make full use of the JP Welfare officer (jp-welfare@pem.ac.uk) or any of the other welfare officers (e.g. LGBT+, Disabled Students etc) for support if you identify with these intersections!

Out of College Support

You can specifically request a BME counsellor at the University Counselling Service. Simply indicate this when filling out the online form: here. A BME councillor can be particularly useful if you have experienced racial trauma or feel you will be more comfortable talking to someone who also identifies as BME.

Cultural societies (e.g. ACS, IndiaSoc) often hold welfare events which are also a great way to meet BME people from other colleges who may be going through the same thing.

FLY. : A network and group for women and non-binary people of colour. Visit their Facebook page: @flycambridge. Join the Facebook group here.

FUSE: A network and group for LGBT+ people of colour. Visit their Facebook page: @fusecambridge. Join the Facebook group here.

Reporting Racial Harassment and Abuse

If you ever feel that you have experienced racial harassment and abuse in Cambridge, there are multiple reporting options depending on your circumstance. To find out more, and talk these options through please contact:

The Students Union Advice Service: https://www.studentadvice.cam.ac.uk/
The JP BME Officer (jp-ethmin@pem.cam.ac.uk)

When in the process of reporting an incident of racial harassment, please make full use of the welfare, counselling and support services mentioned above.

The Cambridge SU BME Campaign is also always happy to provide support for BME students, particularly if they do not feel satisfied with their experience of reporting racial harassment, or would like some support throughout the reporting process. To contact them, simply message their Facebook page @CambridgeBME.

For more information about welfare support for BME students, please see the SU BME Campaign’s welfare pack here.

Community and Info for Freshers

Coming to Cambridge as a BME fresher can feel quite daunting, but there are a ton of ways you can meet other BME students in Cambridge who will all be feeling exactly the same as you.

Join the Pembroke BME network to find out about BME events going on both in and out of college
A list of the university’s cultural societies can be found here.
The BME Campaign often run events/forums where you can talk with other BME students in a safe space.
FLY. (a network for women and non-binary students of colour)
FUSE (a network for LGBT+ students of colour)