Mental Health Resources
Click Graphic to Expand
Mental Health Programs Specifically Made for the Black Community
Oakland / California Based
- PEERS: https://peersnet.org
- PEERS is an Oakland based, diverse community of people with mental health experience
- Their goal is to promote innovative peer-based wellness strategies; they create community-based and culturally rich mental health programs that eliminate stigma and discrimination
- Programs include:
- Wellness Recovery Action Plan: an evidence-based substance abuse and mental health program
- Black Wellness & Resilience: focused on providing culturally relevant services and resources to the black community to reduce internal and external stigma
- Everyone Counts Campaign: making efforts to reduce stigma in the Latino community
- Mental Health Association of Alameda County: https://mhaac.org/
- Their mission is to empower those with mental health conditions to live their best lives
- They offer free support, education, and mental health resources to family caregivers and the organization is staffed by qualified individuals who are trained in trauma-informed care
- Since the 90’s, MHAAC has sponsored an African American Family Support Group that meets each month with the goal of providing a safe space for black families to share their experiences
- Healing Together: https://www.wearehealingtogether.org/
- Oakland based organization that is justice-centered, peer-led, and provides access to resources for emotional health and wellbeing, healing and resilience
- They provide group healing circles, organizational coaching & consulting as well as training and workshops for education in trauma informed care
- They also have helpful tools like trauma fact sheets to help people understand their experiences better
- California Black Women’s Health Project: Mental Health Toolkit: https://www.cabwhp.org/uploads/5/6/6/4/56647115/cabwhp-cpehn_mental_health_toolkit_-_12.2020.pdf
- This toolkit was made to increase awareness about the mental health needs for the black community and provide advocacy tools
- Created in collaboration with the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
- Sisters Mentally Mobilized program: trains black women to be advocates and launch Sister Circles in the communities where black women live
- The California Black Women’s Health Project as a whole is an organization that contributes to mental health efforts, as their mission revolves around empowering black women to take responsibility for their health needs: https://www.cabwhp.org/
- Take Action for Mental Health: https://takeaction4mh.com/about-us/
- Campaign for California’s ongoing mental health movement
- Provides resources to support Californians’ mental health needs, and they have programs such as
- Know the Signs: CA’s suicide prevention campaign that encourages individuals to learn the signs of suicide & learn how to ask loved one’s if they are struggling with thoughts of suicide
- Directing Change Program and Film Contest: engages students and young people throughout CA to learn about topics of suicide and mental health through the medium of film
- They also provide quick fact sheets for mental health self-care tips and understanding the spectrum of mental health
- Mental Health America of California: https://www.mhac.org/
- Their goal is to ensure that people of all ages, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, etc. who require mental health services are able to live full and productive lives & are not denied any other benefits, services, rights, or opportunities
- They provide mental health screenings, talk/text/chat support lines and a lengthy resource list for their consumers to use when they need
- Alma Family Services: https://almafamilyservices.org/about-us/
- Alma Family Services is focused on providing a comprehensive range of multilingual community-based services for families
- They provide several programs focused on behavioral health, substance abuse, peer and family support, youth development, etc.
- Sister to Sister International: https://www.s2si.org/
- This organization links women, girls, and families of African descent to the resources that connect, advance and strengthen them
- Based in Oakland
Nationally
- Crisis Text Line: http://www.crisistextline.org/
- A free and confidential 24/7 support line for those in crisis in the U.S.
- A live, trained crisis counselor will answer your text within minutes
- The Loveland Foundation: https://thelovelandfoundation.org/
- The Loveland Foundation raises money to provide financial assistance to black women and girls nationally who are seeking therapy.
- Their goal is to help members of diverse racial and ethnic groups overcome barriers affecting access to treatment.
- NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
- NAMI focuses on mental health and wellbeing for all people: https://www.nami.org/home
- Specifically, their program Sharing Hope is focusing on the lack of information about mental health in black communities, and how it prevents them from getting the support they need: https://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Mental-Health-Education/NAMI-Sharing-Hope-Mental-Wellness-in-the-Black-Community
- It is a 3-part video series that explores the journey for mental wellness in black communities
- They also have a California branch: https://namica.org/
- The Safe Place: a minority mental health app that educates and raises more awareness of mental health & mental illness in the black community
- The app is free for download on iOS & Android
- The Liberate Meditation App: this meditation app was designed specifically for people of color, created by an Afro-Latino man
- The app provides meditations that touch on the pain of racial discrimination, and educates users on how to nurture their feelings in the wake of microaggressions in order to care for their mental health
- Black women comprise the largest group of users
- https://liberatemeditation.com/
- Therapy in Color: https://www.therapyincolor.org/
- Strives to create spaces for healing with the goal of making sure that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color can access psychotherapy by culturally diverse professionals
- The organization provides a blog, directory of therapists, and resources to help patients better manage mental health problems
- Black Mental Health Alliance: https://blackmentalhealth.com/
- This organization provides a database of black psychiatrists, a questionnaire to match prospective patients with therapists, and other resources
- They also promote/organize educational forums, training and referral services to support the black community
- How Adults can Help Black Youth with Mental Health
BestColleges.com created a mental health resource for black women. Resources cover:
Why Mental Health Support Is Important for Black Women
Barriers to Mental Health Care for Black Women
Mental Health Resources for Black Women
Visit: https://www.bestcolleges.com/
