[Alliance Enews] Improving Mental Health in the Black Community

[Luke Sikinyi]

As Black History Month comes to a close, we reflect on the resilience of the Black community in the US and the many accomplishments reached by activists and leaders to improve the conditions faced by Black Americans. As contributors to the mental health and disability rights movement, The Alliance for Rights and Recovery (formerly NYAPRS) knows our continued work is an extension of the immense work of civil rights and racial justice leaders before us. We also know there is far more work to do to get closer to a truly equitable society and disability services system.

The historical lack of culturally aware care has led to many disparities in mental health services. Black Americans are overrepresented in our prison system<https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Cultural-Competency/Mental-Health-Disparities/Mental-Health-Facts-for-African-Americans.pdf>, have a harder time connecting<https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/2018qdr.pdf> to needed services, and are more likely to face poverty<https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-266.pdf>. Much more must be done to close the gap in all of these areas and more, to create a more equitable society.

The Alliance will continue to push for the protection of rights, promotion of recovery for all, and funding to address social determinants of health which are often the root causes of disparities in the Black community. While we must celebrate all that has been accomplished, we cannot lose sight of the work needed to continue improving our service system and society so all can recovery and live full lives. See below for a message from the Alliance Cultural Competence Committee and a collection of resources to learn more about Black History Month and Mental Health resources for the Black Community.

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THE ALLIANCE FOR RIGHTS AND RECOVERY CULTURAL COMPETENCE COMMITTEE

We Bring this Years Celebration of Black History Month to a close by remembering the words of .......

Angela Davis - I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change,  I am changing the things I cannot accept...
Fannie Lou Hamer - Nobody' Free Until Everybody's Free
John Lewis - Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble....
Barack Obama - Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.  We are the ones we've been waiting for.   We are the change that we seek.
Viola Davis - " As black women, we're always given these seemingly devastating experiences -experiences that could absolutely break us. But what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly.....
Frederick Douglas - The soul that is within me no man can degrade....
Nelson Mandela - It always seems impossible until it is done....

Resources:

Black and African American Communities and Mental Health | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)<https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health>

Health | United States | Black Mental Wellness<https://www.blackmentalwellness.com/>

Understanding Mental Health in Black Communities<https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/black-mental-health>

Special Report: The Mental Health Impact of Racism on Black Communities-Acknowledging Patients' Lived Experience | Psychiatric News (psychiatryonline.org)<https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.07.7.18>

New York Association of Black Psychologists (nyabpsi.org)<https://nyabpsi.org/>

Mental-Health-Facts-for-African-Americans.pdf (psychiatry.org)<https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/Psychiatrists/Cultural-Competency/Mental-Health-Disparities/Mental-Health-Facts-for-African-Americans.pdf>

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