History
The Muslim Community Helpline has been serving the community since 1987. The members of the organisation ran the Muslim Women’s Helpline for 20 years and then, in 2007, rebranded and launched as the Muslim Community Helpline.
The MWH was a national service and, to our knowledge, the first of its kind, for women and girls suffering in silence and feeling marginalised in mainstream services and under-represented among Muslim communities.
Our callers were looking for a ‘faith sensitive’ service where they felt understood in their spiritual and cultural framework. The Helpline identified the necessity of meeting the needs of women and girls whose religious identity transcended those of race, nationality and ethnicity.
A Growing Need
Those active in the Muslim community founded the Helpline to disseminate and feed back lessons learnt from callers. We have consistently worked with mosques, community leaders, schools, media orgs, the NHS, mental health organisations and society at large to tackle the kind of ‘taboo’ subjects of domestic violence, sexual abuse, family issues, depression, suicidal ideation and loneliness that have caused such distress to our callers.
We have worked tirelessly since 1987 with Muslims and non-Muslims to pursue the best possible service and support. We were able to seek out and utilise Muslim professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, therapists) and work closely with them and non-Muslim mental health specialists to give a more tailor made, sensitive service.
When we began, Islamic counselling was little heard of and we were one of the first organisations to have fully trained accredited Islamic counsellors and have gradually seen the rise of Islamic counsellors being used in mainstream services.
An Independent Service
Throughout the years, we have remained a completely independent service (reflected in our small budget and running costs) which can only be done with the wonderful support of our volunteers and with regular donations, grants and standing orders.
The Helpline was founded by a group of active sisters who saw the need to also disseminate and feedback to the community the lessons being learned from the callers about issues that mosques, community leaders and society at large had to confront.
A pioneering initiative, the MWH was instrumental with others in bringing to the fore issues that now others have taken on and specialised in e.g. forced marriage, sexual abuse, mental health and intergenerational conflict.
The Helpline always ensured that the resources it garnered – in the main, from independent and grassroots donors – were put into frontline services.
A Changing Landscape
In 2007, it was decided to reinvent ourselves as the Muslim Community Helpline – minimal overheads, minimal bureaucracy, answerable to no one but the clients who need time, care, information, sincerity and more time. As a result, we are members of the National Coalition for Independent Action, a campaigning organisation of like-minded independent mobilisations providing a critical commentary on developments in the independent/voluntary sector.
Expertise You Can Count On
Our members also give talks, participate in consultations, train and contribute expertise and insights gained from their experience.
We have contributed to many conferences, guides and books. See here for examples.
However, our principle aim is to be there for any person who is suffering in silence.
Operating with a keen eye on keeping expenditure as low as possible, the Helpline runs on a low budget and we are dependent on our generous donors.
Support the Service
For those who are not aware, our Helpline is 100% reliant on voluntary donations and the occasional philanthropic grant from supporters, support for which we are very grateful and which helps to ensure that we remain independent and focused on the needs of the community.
Your donations are essential for our running costs and gratefully appreciated: find out more by pressing here.
We welcome support for our voluntary work. Contact us by email at ess4m@btinternet.com.
Contacting us
Our service operates an open line at Monday to Thursday, 10am-1pm, Friday 10am-4pm, and has a prior booking service for certain other times.
To find out more please go here.
Call: 0208 904 8193 or 020 8908 6715.
If you need to phone on the weekend, you can phone one of the national helplines such as the Samaritans, Inspirited Minds, MIND, Women’s Aid and Refuge. Our Resources and Links pages also give sources of help.
Muslim Community Helpline 