Our Story

The Cultural Connection was born from lived experience on the frontlines of mental health, youth work, and the criminal justice system. Our founder saw first-hand how children and young people - particularly from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds - were consistently failed by the very systems meant to support them. What couldn’t be changed from within, we set out to transform from the outside.

We work along the mental health and justice pathway: preventing harm through early intervention, diverting those in crisis away from criminalisation, and supporting rehabilitation and reintegration for those already in the justice system. Our approach is trauma-informed, culturally grounded, and anti-racist - bridging the gap between underserved communities and the institutions that shape their lives.

Our work is delivered through three interconnected pillars:

• Mental Health Empowerment and Employability - Supporting children and young adults at risk of justice involvement, and those in forensic mental health settings, to build confidence, skills, and pathways into education, training, or work.

• Community Advocacy and Training- Equipping people – especially from Black and racially minoritised communities – to advocate for fairer responses to mental health crises and to challenge practices such as the disproportionate use of powers under the Mental Health Act.

• Research, Policy and Systemic Change- Using a transdisciplinary and intersectional approach that combines lived experience, academic insight, and cross-sector expertise to generate evidence that drives reform in mental health, housing, and justice systems at local and national levels.

Since 2019, we have been a vital link between communities and systems – translating experiences, advocating for equity, and co-creating better pathways to opportunity. Our mission is clear: to transform systems, amplify unheard voices, and help build a future where justice and care go hand in hand.

Our Vision, Mission and Values

OUR VISION

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We envision justice and mental health systems that are care-led, culturally informed, and equitable - where children stay in education, young adults leaving custody rebuild their lives with dignity, and Black and racially minoritised communities shape the decisions that affect them.

OUR MISSION

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Our mission is to transform the mental health and justice pathway - from prevention and diversion to rehabilitation and reintegration. We empower communities, particularly Black and racially minoritised people, to lead change, and we partner with institutions to reform practice. Through trauma-informed, culturally grounded programmes, transdisciplinary research, and policy advocacy, we work to replace punitive responses with care, equity, and opportunity.

OUR VALUES

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Our values guide every decision, partnership, and programme we deliver:

Collaborative

Collaborative

We work alongside communities, partners, and systems, believing that shared knowledge and collective action create the most lasting change.
Compassionate

Compassionate

We centre empathy and understanding in every interaction, recognising that healing and growth require safety and respect.
Culturally Responsive

Culturally Responsive

We honour context and culture, adapting methods to lived experience so support is relevant, safe, and effective.
Creative

Creative

We innovate by blending reflective practice with creative tools like arts and design, helping communities reimagine challenges and co-create solutions that work in the real world.
Committed

Committed

We are dedicated to dismantling systemic barriers and creating pathways to opportunity, working until equity is no longer the exception but the norm.

Meet The Founder

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Dr Niquita Pilgrim, PhD CPsychol - Founder & Strategic Director of Programmes and Partnerships | Chartered Psychologist

I founded The Cultural Connection after years working in mental health, youth work, and justice, where I saw first-hand how systems too often fail the people they are meant to serve. As a Chartered Psychologist with over 15 years’ experience across practice and research, my expertise lies in the psychology of racialised identity and behaviour - ensuring Black and racially minoritised people are understood in context, not pathologised or criminalised.

Through a transdisciplinary and intersectional approach, I challenge deep-rooted inequalities in mental health and justice systems and design evidence-based, trauma-informed, and anti-racist solutions. My work has contributed to NHS anti-racism strategy, parliamentary policy discussions, and the co-production of approaches that improve access, dignity, and outcomes.

At The Cultural Connection, I lead our strategic direction and safeguard quality - ensuring our programmes and advocacy address the justice–mental health pipeline from prevention to rehabilitation and reintegration. By pairing evidence, lived experience, and culturally grounded practice, I work to transform systems so that justice and care go hand in hand.

Research & Advocacy Hub

At The Cultural Connection, research and advocacy are not add-ons - they’re embedded in everything we do. We combine lived experience, academic expertise, and sector insight to uncover the root causes of inequality and design solutions that work in the real world.

Working at the intersection of mental health, education, and justice, our hub connects community knowledge with policy influence, ensuring that those most impacted by systemic failings help lead the change.

We partner with Lived Experience Experts, practitioners, academics, and national networks - including the Black Health and Humanities Network - to co-produce research using anti-oppressive, culturally responsive methods. Our aim: to generate evidence that is both rigorous and actionable.

Highlights of Our Work

•Policy-shaping research - e.g., Dismantling the Master’s Tools, our research on racial inequality in mental health pathways, has informed NHS workforce priorities and local authority commissioning.

•NHS influence - Contributed to shaping the anti-racism strategy and culturally responsive care frameworks at national level.

•Evaluation & learning partnerships - Co-designed impact frameworks for multi-year programmes, ensuring lived experience is a core measure of success.

•Peer-reviewed expertise - Reviewed high-impact reports and policy briefs for academic institutions and think tanks.

•Advocacy in action - Convened and contributed to advisory and parliamentary roundtables on mental health, justice reform, and racial equity.

Proof in Action

📌 Case study: Our evaluation of the West midlands-based Steps2Success forensic mental health programme identified key adaptations that strengthened patient engagement and confidence, directly informing a successful funding bid to expand delivery to London.

What Sets Us Apart

•Bridging research and practice - We turn insights into solutions, from frontline delivery to policy change.

•Embedded equity lens - Every project centres cultural safety, lived experience, and systemic accountability.

•Sector-spanning reach - From grassroots to government, our work influences across scales.

📩 Partner with us

Whether you need a research partner, an evaluation lead, or advocacy support, we can help shape change that lasts. Contact us via our contact page to explore collaboration.

Our Clients, Funders and Partners