NJ Push to Promote Mental Health Awareness

BOBBY BRIER | JULY 29, 2022 | HEALTH CARE

With suicide rising among Black youths, groups look to boost hope, offer support

Organizers are planning to promote mental-health awareness with what they say will be an expression of courage, hope and resilience through the perspectives of people of color.

Sunday’s BIPOC Messages of Hope and Celebration — sponsored by the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Pleasant Valley Productions and the New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative (NJCAC) — is one of several events during a month-long focus in July on the mental-health needs of Black people, Indigenous people and people of color.

The event comes as the rates of suicide among Black youths have risen faster than among any other racial or ethnic group in the past two decades. Suicide rates among Black males 10 to 19 years old have increased by 60%, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. And those figures might be skewed because the rate of suicide among Black people in general is underreported, said Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington).

What’s needed

“So what we need to do … is to invest more resources in mental-health services for not just people of color, but for all individuals because I think it is critically important that we provide outlets and have the resources presented to curb this … devastating trend,” he said, adding that he is encouraged by some steps already taken in New Jersey.

Organizers said Sunday’s Messages of Hope and Celebration will feature artisan vendors and food trucks, in addition to social-service and mental-health resources. There will also be live performances from Neal Stephens, an author and drum-circle leader; Doriane Swain, a spoken-word poet; and Samad Savage, a hip-hop artist and producer.

The performers will share their personal journeys about how creativity helped them to heal, said Lynette Sheard, the host of the event and a community education coordinator at the Mental Health Association in New Jersey. The association will also be offering resources such as free call lines for emotional support and information regarding free online mental-health screenings, according to Sheard.

Reducing stigma

“It’s understanding that these (BIPOC) communities unfortunately do not have access to mental-health services for many, many different reasons and an event like the BIPOC Messages of Hope and Celebration is to use creativity to educate, to use art as a form of advocacy,” Sheard said. “So you’re coming for a great show, but we’re also going to invite you to take care of your mental health.”

Suicide rates for NJ’s Black teens point to treatment disparities

The importance of the event was underscored by Colette McLean, a licensed clinical social worker and coordinator of group services at Rowan University’s Wellness Center.

“I think that an event like this is really critical because it continues to reinforce … this message that … we’ve been working on as a community for some years now with trying to shift the way in which we think about and how we view mental-health issues to help to decrease the stigma related to … people having struggles and difficulties,” McLean said.

And reducing that stigma surrounding mental health and seeking treatment is crucial, Singleton said.

“So this idea of anytime we can bring attention to these issues, reduce the stigma about asking for help, about being able to talk about it, I think could go a long way to saving someone’s life who realizes that there are people out there who are willing to help … and they can extend their hand without being judged in order to seek the help they need,” Singleton said.

2022 BIPOC Messages of Hope and Celebration is set for Sunday, July 31, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center (OSPAC), 4 Boland Drive, West Orange. The event is free, outdoors and family friendly. Guests are invited to wear something that represents their cultural origin and to bring a chair. Community resources and information will be provided by the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, among many other organizations.

SISTATEACHER’S THOUGHTS

THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS, EMERGENCY TASK FORCE ON BLACK YOUTH SUICIDE & MENTAL HEALTH, CHAIR, REP. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN

Over the last several years, data has emerged indicating an alarming increase in the suicide rates for Black children and teenagers over the past generation. While research has also shown climbing rates for youth from other racial and ethnic groups, this trend in Black youth runs counter to historical data showing lower rates of suicide among Black Americans. The narrowing racial gap in suicide rates tells us that this emergent issue among Black youth warrants attention now. A cadre of Black researchers from across the United States has been ringing the alarm to raise awareness about this disturbing trend. On April 30, 2019, U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman established he Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, simultaneously empowering a working group, led by Dr. Michael Lindsey, PhD, MSW, MPH, Executive Director of the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, of experts composed of the country’s leading Black academic, advocacy and practicing experts in this space. Over the past 8 months, the taskforce and working group have held hearings, forums, events and listening sessions to identify both the causes and potential solutions to this burgeoning crisis. On December 17, the taskforce released a report, and simultaneously introduced legislation aimed at closing the mental health care gap for black youth. Website https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/suicidetaskforce/

Above is an NJ Spotlight article and the Congressional Black Caucus Report about Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health.

There are several factors that contribute to the state of health in the US regarding Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). I intentionally use the word HEALTH instead of one factor of health. Mental health is not some other health and is important as physical health.

There are disparities in the overall health care system and mental health continues to be underresourced, marginalized, and stigmatized. These issues are exacerbated in BIPOC communities.

Please read the above report and other matters related to overall health and specifically mental health. Check out classroom.google.com/c/MTk1MTYyOTI0MDky?cjc=lyazk6r   for Wellness Tools to utilize and share with others for them to use.

Mental health is not mental illness and is just as important physical health.