Amazing to witness

Meet Layla Shirreh, Social Prescribing Manager at the Bromley By Bow Centre. To celebrate Social Prescribing Day on 10th March, we interviewed Layla to find out how she ended up in this progressive career, what she does, why social prescribing is needed, and what motivates her.

Layla, what are your links to the local area?

I was born in Tower Hamlets and grew up in Poplar. My parents have been in the East London area since the sixties; my dad was a seafarer who came to East London around Brick Lane in the early fifties, then brought my mum over. Both my parents came here from Somalia, at a time when I don’t think people in East London knew where Somalia was! 

Did you always know you wanted to work in health?

I studied history at SOAS (The School of Oriental & African Studies), did a bit of travelling, lived in Morocco for a while, then started working for Camden Council, supporting young students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, shaping the curriculum to make it a bit more inclusive. I also educated teachers on the conflict countries these kids came from. That was my first insight into working in a supporting capacity. Prior to that, in volunteered in Morocco, whetting my appetite for that humanitarian space. After Camden Council I taught English abroad for a few years, then returned and started working for the Bromley By Bow Centre - my first introduction to community work. 

Have you always focused on supporting others?

In the past I helped set up a charity for Moroccan street children, with my friends. So working at BBBC was my second stint with a charity, but this time it was local and in the area I grew up. I started with the employment and learning team, and also worked on a project supporting isolated women from BAME groups. I moved to the social prescribing service in 2020, just before the pandemic. 

And how did social prescribing fit in for you?

It was a natural step, because all my work, the volunteering, setting up the charity in Morocco, working in Camden, teaching abroad in the Middle East, all of that related to reducing inequalities, and helping people to have a voice. Social prescribing seemed natural to me, because it aims to reduce health inequalities by addressing the social factors that affect health and wellbeing. I’ve always been doing that. 

How was it to come back to Tower Hamlets?

It was a really good feeling. If I’m honest, I spent the early part of my life with a real desire to experience a life – a world outside of Tower Hamlets. It wasn't always as 'cool' and 'hip' as it is now with the mass redevelopment and gentrification of the area in the last few years. There were massive pockets of inequality and growing up in Poplar I saw the development of Canary Wharf and the creation of an astonishing rich/poor divide which left me feeling disheartened. Coming back to the borough meant a lot because when I’m supporting people within the service, I can relate to and understand just how much health inequalities can impact our lives. 

So why do we need social prescribing?

It’s about seeing the person as a whole and allowing THEM to be the driver of their life and their care plan. And it’s not just about doing one thing. An employment adviser would just focus on employment support. A social welfare adviser would focus on housing support. But there are so many factors affecting those things. You can’t support a person with their mental health, fully, unless you address all the factors that could be affecting their health, like they’re homeless, or they’ve been made redundant. 

What are some of the challenges?

The amount of people our service has to help in a week is crazy. And social prescribers can connect people to support services, but often those services are voluntary sector organisations that are dependent on funding, so what we’re finding is that a lot of them have to end projects when funding ends, and there’s not a lot of funding out there to start with. A big part of the client’s journey is being referred on to those organisations that can support them. If the frontline services aren’t running, we can’t provide anything. And there are huge external factors like the housing crisis - we’re just not in control of that. 

The needs are vast, the challenges are huge - what keeps you motivated?

Seeing a positive change in people. People come to you in a crisis, and being on that journey with them is a privilege. A lot of people arrive who are wanting to end their lives, and going from meeting or speaking to them at that point, to then seeing them months down the line, working, or part of a gardening group, or they’ve started a course, seeing that transformation in people is such a pleasure. 

Tell us about the link workers at Bromley By Bow Centre - what are their qualities?

It’s amazing to witness the empathy, the humility, the compassion and non-judgemental approach they have in creating a place where people can open up. People get referred to us from their GP, and the referral need will say something like ‘help with social welfare issues,’ but because the link worker has created the right conditions, they’ll disclose so much more about their life which they may not have told anybody. Then we can get them the support they need. 

Is there somebody particular you’d like to mention?

Alya Rashid, one of our longest-serving social prescribers grew up right around the corner from the Bromley By Bow Centre, and she's spent much of her career supporting the local community. Most of Alya’s clients are from the same Bangladeshi background as her, and her language ability plus her experience mean she can create meaningful conversations that wouldn’t always be possible across a language barrier. She’s so generous with her time, supporting people to overcome the challenges they face and do the best they can in their lives. At a broader level, she’s really helped to shape the service.

How do you see your future - will you stay in social prescribing?

Future? I’m still stuck in pandemic mode! Whatever it is I’m doing, at some point when I move on, I think I’ll always stay within this kind of space. There’s nothing wrong with working for a bank or a corporation, but I don’t see that for myself. I’d always see myself as being in a helping, supportive space. 

The Morocco-based charity Layla helped to found, Walou 4 Us continues to help street children in Morocco. In 2021, Layla was nominated for the National Association of Link Workers ‘Manager of the Year’ Award.

We first met Layla when the Bromley By Bow Centre offered to host some of our Wellbeing for Over 60s work. Click to support more of this work in your local community.