Poppy Sultana Jaman (; born 4 September 1976) is an English civil servant,

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

advocate, and the CEO and founding member of

Mental health first aid Mental health first aid is an extension of the concept of traditional first aid to cover mental health conditions. Mental health first aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person experiencing or developing a mental health condi ...

England (MHFAE).

Early life

Jaman is a third-generation

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis () are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots are from Bangladesh. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with ...

who grew up in a traditional Bangladeshi household in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and left school at the age of 16 with

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

s and had an arranged marriage at 17. At the age of 20, her first daughter was born, and shortly after this she developed

post-natal depression The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

and anxiety. Eventually she ended her marriage and became a single mother. As a child, Jaman wanted to become an electronics engineer.

Career

In 1999, Jaman started out as a community development worker in Portsmouth and then joined the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

. From December 2003 to February 2004, she was strategic business manager for Portsmouth City Primary Care Trust. From 2004 to 2009, she was race equality programme lead for National Institute for Mental Health in England. In 2007, after the Department of Health asked Jaman and her colleagues to investigate how they could roll out mental health training across England, they found out Mental Health First Aid training was being implemented across Scotland and realised that it was a translatable programme that could work in England. Within the same year, the National Institute for Mental Health in England started offering Mental Health First Aid courses. Due to its popularity, it was decided that Mental Health First Aid should be set up as a separate social enterprise. In May 2009, Jaman became a founding member and chief executive of

(MHFA) England, which is a

not-for-profit organisation A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (NPO ...

that teaches people how to identify and support a person who may be experiencing mental ill health. Jaman was asked to lead the development of MHFA England as a Community Interest Company. Since October 2015, Jaman has been Programme Director for the City Mental Health Alliance, a network of thought leaders from the City of London-based organisations committed to improving and raising awareness of mental health in the workplace. Since February 2014, she has sat on the board as non-executive director of

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

(PHE). From October 2014 to July 2015, she was non-executive director of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

Community Directory. Internationally, Jaman has supported the development of MHFA in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, trained orphanage workers in mental health literacy in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, and at the request of the Ugandan Government, provided training for the controversial

Ugandan People's Defence Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...

. In 2009, while working for the Department of Health, Jaman completed her MBA at the

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

. She also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Executive Coaching.

Personal life

In 2017, Jaman married her partner of seven years. She lives in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

with her husband and her four children. Jaman has cited her experience of depression as a young woman, growing up in a deprived ward in Portsmouth and leaving school at 16 (although she later got an MBA) helped her to develop an understanding of the challenges facing people with mental health problems, especially among diverse groups.

References

External links

*
One of the biggest barriers for creating mentally fit workplaces is fear, says Poppy Jaman of MHFA
30 January 2014 *Jaman, Poppy
Mental ill health: The line manager's role
''HR Magazine''. 10 October 2016
Q&A with Poppy Jaman CEO of Mental Health First Aid England
''Holistic Therapy Magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaman, Poppy 1977 births Living people English Muslims English people of Bangladeshi descent Mental health professionals Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Health professionals from Portsmouth Alumni of the University of Portsmouth

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links