Policy Research stands in solidarity of Black lives and mourns for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and other lives taken as a result of racial injustice.
The anger is righteous. The protests are righteous. Structural and systemic racism is evident everywhere—criminal justice, housing, behavioral and physical health care, education, the list goes on. It is our duty to make these systems equitable for all.
Our work is rooted in transforming communities to help people achieve recovery. Recognizing and addressing the impact of historical trauma and institutionalized racism is a cornerstone of our work. We need to do more to support the behavioral health recovery of Black and Brown individuals and communities.
At a minimum, we must educate ourselves and our stakeholders about these structural inequities resulting from racism—issues that have such a profound impact on so many lives and are intrinsically linked to the work we do.
To learn about the impact of racism on public health, we encourage you to register for the American Public Health Association’s four-part Advancing Racial Equity Webinar Series. The series will examine racism as a driving force of the social determinants of health and equity. The first webinar, scheduled for June 9, 2020, from 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET, will explore the historical and present-day impacts of racism on health and well-being.
To encourage broader education about systems transformation to support the well-being and recovery of Black and Brown people, we have assembled the following resources from Policy Research and its projects:
- A Wellness First Approach: A Lens for Improving Mental Health and Well-Being
- Adverse Community Experiences: Connecting Zip Code to Mental Health
- Exploring the Impacts of Community Trauma and Toxic Stress on Our Well-Being
- Facing Racial Inequity While Experiencing Mental Illness and a Substance Use Disorder: What Changed?
- Fostering Community Wellness: Addressing Toxic Stress and Adverse Community Events
- Fostering Community Wellness: Addressing Toxic Stress and Adverse Community Events | A Fact Sheet for Behavioral Health Providers
- HEAT: An Afrocentric, Holistic Approach to Recovery
- Program Pioneers Afrocentric Transitional Housing for Black and African American Women with Justice Involvement
- Promoting Race Equity in Behavioral Health and Justice Outcomes: Gatekeeper Bias as a Barrier
- Q&A with Daryl Atkinson, JD, Co-Director of Forward Justice
- Q&A with Keith Wattley, JD, Founder and Executive Director, Uncommon Law
- Removing Obstacles to Eliminating Racial & Ethnic Disparities in Behavioral Health Care
- Shifting the Culture in Schools: Addressing Mental Health and Trauma with a School Responder Model
- Stigma Regarding Mental Illness Among People of Color
Join SAMHSA’s GAINS Center on June 29, 2020, from 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET, for the Cultural Competence Across the Sequential Intercept Model webinar. This webinar will provide participants with practical strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disproportionality among individuals with mental and/or substance use disorders who are interfacing with the justice system.