One in five
people live with a mental health condition. This painful statistic shows that
mental health disorders are more prominent than we might have thought. Many of
these people also belong to an ethnic or racial minority. Historically, minority communities not only experience unique and
considerable challenges in accessing mental health services, but discrimination
or exclusion. Being a
minority, along with other social determinants of health such as geographical
location, availability of resources, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation
or gender identity contribute to minorities receiving inferior mental health
treatment. Minorities who are impoverished, homeless, incarcerated
or have substance abuse problems are at an even higher risk for poor mental
health. These health disparities are preventable differences.
What can be done to change this?
Fortunately,
it is being worked on, but will take time. With July being National Minority Mental
Health Awareness Month, there are organizations dedicated to providing support
and resources while raising awareness for minority groups living with mental
illness. The aim is to improve access to mental health services for
multicultural communities through increased public awareness. Mental health services must be tailored to meet the
unique needs of minority groups in different community settings.
A number of
initiatives in place today focus on minority communities and their access to
mental health. A range of initiatives continue to
emerge at the federal, state, and local level. Primary
care offices need to include mental health screenings that take into account a
patient’s language and cultural background to address minority mental health care.
It is imperative that mental health services are integrated with primary care
services as they are the sole form of services for over a third of patients
with a mental health disorder who are accessing the health care delivery system.
The public mental health safety
net of hospitals, community health centers, and local health departments are also
vital to many minorities, especially to those in high-need populations.
There are many organizations that help millions of
people who face mental illness each day. To learn more about mental health
conditions, get involved in events, raise awareness and find support for
family/friends/caregivers, reach out to the organizations. Here are a few.
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