Spotlight: Black Mental Health Matters
We hope you’ve been having a great February, folks! The hEARt Team has been on an internal holiday to celebrate our anniversary and practice some self-care, but we’re happy to be back- and the first thing we’d like to do is shine a spotlight on Black mental health in honor of Black History Month.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receive it. We stand in solidarity with the Black organizations and activists that are working to change that statistic. We’ve compiled a list of organizations and provided links so that you can learn more and/or provide support.
1. Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM) is a 501 (c)(3) organization that works to help Black people access “emotional health care and healing”. Learn more here; check out their Black Virtual Wellness Directory here.
2. My Brother’s Keeper Alliance is an Obama Foundation initiative dedicated to “building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity”. Learn more here; get involved here.
3. Black Mental Wellness, Corp. works to “provide access to evidence-based information and resources about mental health and behavioral health topics from a Black perspective, to highlight and increase the diversity of mental health professionals, and to decrease the mental health stigma in the Black community”. Learn more here; check out their resources here.
4. The Loveland Foundation “provides financial assistance to Black women and girls seeking therapy nationally”. Learn more & give here; apply for funding here.
5. The Loveland Foundation partners with another great organization: Therapy for Black Girls. Therapy for Black Girls is “an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls”. Learn more here; read their blog here.
6. Therapy for Black Men offers a similar service for men; they help Black men access judgment-free, multiculturally-competent care. Learn more here; see their resource list here; find a therapist here.
We hope that you take a minute to learn more about these amazing organizations. Check out our social media for more spotlights!