Minority Mental Health: All Efforts Matter
July 11, 2023
By: Jon Brown
Categories: Healthy Living, Mental Health
Editor’s Note: Jon D. Brown is Chief Advocate for Black Men’s Health and has collaborated with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) on community initiatives and outreach projects. Here, he reflects on the important work being accomplished, not just during National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, but year-round, and shares community health resources.
July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and this observance is meant to bring a voice to and raise awareness of the unique challenges, complexities and struggles that affect the mental health of racial and ethnic minority communities, which are historically underserved.
However, I am always reminded by the sage advice given to me one day early in 2020 by one of my advisors, as I was attempting to force an event date for a Black Men’s Health activity into a specific month’s observance, i.e. June for Men’s Health Month. He said, “Hey, man. When dealing with the work and space you are focused on for Black men, every month is Black Men’s Health Month.”
Good. reminder.
Focusing on the Work to Meet Critical Needs
Forget all the frosting. Keep baking the cakes. In other words, stay focused on the work. And, painfully, I have learned that forward movement and successful completion in bringing awareness and education to Black men, and those that love and care about Black men, are much more important than planned perfection. These critical needs must be met.
Black Men's Health (BMH+) is an initiative that has been cultivated since 1999. Our mission is purposefully simple, yet powerful: Provoking positive change for balanced, healthy lifestyles in men of color everywhere. Encouraging men’s growth in and betterment of their wholistic health (mental, physical, spiritual, financial and social) are at the core of BMH+ and we stay laser-focused on creating more balance through health for men of color.
Past and Ongoing Community Initiatives
It doesn’t matter if it’s the Black Men’s Mental Health Training we partnered to host in July 2021, in collaboration with the City of Tallahassee, Leon County Government, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Tallahassee, the Mental Health Council of the Big Bend (MHCBB) ENGAGE Committee, and Florida A&M University (FAMU), that focused on arming and educating our community liaisons and gatekeepers (barbers, coaches, youth mentors, trainers, etc.) with information from mental health professionals to be able to identify potential declines in the mental health of their male clients and contacts and take immediate action, which could mean pulling them in closer or contacting a loved one or putting them in direct contact with a mental health professional.
We provided those in attendance QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training to be able to recognize the warning signs of suicide and question, persuade and refer people at risk for help.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the initial Black Men’s Mental Health Check-In session we partnered to host in mid-September 2022, in collaboration with FAMU Public Health doctoral student Michael Birdsong, Conversations with Nicole (Nicole Everette), NAMI Tallahassee, the City of Tallahassee and We Are All We Need, that focused on creating a safe space for Black Men to have group therapy with a licensed mental health therapist.
The session was a maxed-out event with a majority of the participants being FAMU students and created momentum for bringing similar activity to male organizations on campuses to raise awareness for Black Men’s mental health, along with creating more safe spaces for them to express themselves.
Also, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Men’s Mental Health Check-In session focused on Intimate Partner Violence we partnered to host in late November 2022 or a Complexities of Fatherhood session held in late January 2023, both in collaboration with FAMU Student Activities, FAMU Public Health doctoral student Michael Birdsong, Conversations with Nicole, and NAMI Tallahassee.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a Conversation on Stroke we partnered to host in late May 2023 in partnership with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) and the Tallahassee Urban League.
Or, a Men's Mental Health Check-In hosted in late June 2023 with many community partners coming together to pull this off successfully, including the Tallahassee Trainers Foundation, the Tallahassee-Leon Council on the Status of Men and Boys (CSMB), We Are All We Need and BMH+.
The Saturday morning check-in focused and touched on topics including Coping with Mental Health (stress/anxiety/depression), personal health issues, relationship issues (spouse/children), finance issues (building wealth) and violence/safety in the community (self & family). More importantly, the collective has thoughtfully and intentionally set up these check-ins to be quarterly convenings; calendared for consistent connectivity. Nor does it matter if it’s a Men’s Health Matters session, focused on Men's Mental Health, hosted at the end of June 2023 with Neighborhood Medical Center and BMH+ joining forces for the first in-person Healthy Happy Hour that Neighborhood has held since the pandemic.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an existing or future partner collaboration with Second Harvest of the Big Bend at a Senior Services Center or an Elementary School in Leon County or Gadsden County, focused on food nutrition and wellness classes, setup as a multi-monthly series with direct education, cooking demo/taste tests, choice produce markets and physical activity; at times, serving our elders, the children, their parents, teachers and staff.
And, it does not matter if it’s on-going partner collaboration with Bond Community Health Center to tackle health disparities and matters related to health equity, arising from access to the social determinants of health (SDOH); nonmedical factors influencing health outcomes, including conditions in which individuals are born, grow, work, live and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. And, while we might be wrestling with immediate issues like hypertension, diabetes, obesity and sickle cell anemia that disproportionately affect the African American community, we might also be taking incremental steps to resolve generational issues like mortality, life expectancy, burden of disease, mental health, the uninsured/underinsured and a lack of access to care.
Nor does it matter, if we launch our inaugural Black Men’s Health Mental Health Symposium in September 2023 with speakers and panelists as subject matter experts; free for the general public, some targeted content curated for therapists and other mental health professionals, and Adult Mental Health First Aid training provided as a symposium extra.
Every Discussion on Mental Health Matters
We must be clear and communicate, that it doesn’t matter if we are talking to 1,200 men in a huge, expansive plenary session at conference or talking with 12 men in a small, intimate man cave discussion at church. It doesn’t matter how extensive the effort is, nor how minor the impact seems. In the end, especially as it relates to our mental health and wellness, it all matters. Every discussion. Every panel. Every virtual meeting. Every conference call. Every text. Every email. Every community meeting. Every volunteer hour. Every social media post. Every investment. Every contribution.
The connection, community, fellowship, impact, relationships, approachability, relevance, realistic models that can be followed, the deterioration of stigmas of old, the learning of new, gleaning from others for our personal and familial benefit; it matters. Wholistic health and wellness; mental, physical, spiritual, financial, and social. A focus on the whole man. And, balanced, healthy lifestyle changes that can be witnessed, learned, implemented, maintained, and taught to others. Legacy.
The work; it matters. The opportunities for men to access these learnings. The moments in time for men to be able to engage. The nuanced outreach and warm invitations to make sure men know they are welcome to come and stay and come back and bring more men with them; young and old.
If in all that we do, — whether it be the macro-campaigns or the micro-targeted individual touches — we provide one individual a path to move forward for today … access to believe that they are not alone and there is someone, anyone, to reach out to for help and understanding … the feeling that they, indeed, can survive tonight and enough hope, even if a glimmer, that they can get through to tomorrow morning, then our efforts will have been and will continue to be worth it.
Again, we don’t have to be perfect in our approach or execution. We just have to be present and proactive. And, persistent. And unapologetically and unabashedly in support of communities of color.
The work continues. And, we invite you to join us by engaging, promoting, supporting, referencing, creating awareness, or simply pointing individuals in our direction. We can’t do this work alone. And, we wouldn’t want to, even if we could.
Learn more and get involved at Blackmenshealth.com.
Mental Health Resources in the Tallahassee area
• NAMI Tallahassee is a grassroots, nonprofit, education, self-help support and advocacy organization for individuals living with mental health conditions and their families. The organization provides free mental health information and related services in Leon County and throughout the Big Bend and is the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) The NAMI HelpLine is available Monday through Friday, 10 am – 10 pm ET; connect by phone at (800) 950-6264 or text “Helpline” to 62640, or chat. Locally, the NAMI Tallahassee HelpLine Phone can be reached by phone at (850) 841-3386.
• In a crisis, call or text Nine-Eight-Eight (988), the new number for the 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In the past, you may have seen the number as 1-800-273-TALK. Though this number still works, 988 was created to be more accessible.
• 211 Big Bend is a private, telephone counseling, crisis intervention and referral service in Tallahassee. Just as you would call 9-1-1 for emergencies, you can call 2-1-1 for human service information and assistance. The resource is available 24 hours a day to listen and provide emotional support, crisis counseling, suicide prevention, information and referrals.
• 3 Mental Health Programs at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH). If you are experiencing the symptoms mentioned in this article and have questions before seeking care, our behavioral health team is available. Call 850-431-5105.
