Very grateful to the Massachussetts Association for Mental Health for this excellent collection of resources: February is Black History Month, a time to acknowledge the role African Americans and Black people have played in the United States throughout history and to recognize and celebrate their achievements. Black History Month is also an opportunity to raise awareness of common mental health challenges due to the lived experiences of being a person of color in the United States. For anyone living with a mental health condition, there are barriers to accessing care and disparities experienced in receiving care. For people of color, including African and Black Americans, there are double the disparities in accessibility, cultural responsiveness, and quality of mental health care. Learn more and find resources below:
DeeDee's Cry provides resources and education on the importance of mental health and wellness within communities of color and creates a space where conversations begin to lift the stigma of mental health within communities of color.
PureSpark! – Massachusetts’ First Black Wellness Directory is designed to educate the Black community on practices to improve mental wellness, connect people to mental wellness resources, and remove stigma in the Black community associated with mental health conditions
Black Mental Wellness provides access to evidence-based information and resources about mental health and behavioral health topics from a Black perspective, highlights the diversity of mental health professionals, and decreases the mental health stigma in the Black community.
The longest-running program on public television focusing on the interests of people of color, GBH's Basic Black often explores the topic of mental health among BIPOC communities in their episodes.
The Black Mental Health Alliance, an organization developing and promoting culturally-relevant educational forums, trainings, and referral services for the health and well being of Black people highlights books on behavioral health written by Black individuals.
Providing services to promote mental health and wellness within Black communities, BARE Mental Health & Wellness also supports systemic change to address disparities within health care and educational institutions, businesses, agencies, and firms.