BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month
This July marks the 14th annual observance of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) Mental Health Month, previously known as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.
This observance was created to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face in regard to mental illness in the US. It was named after Bebe Moore Campbell who was an American author, journalist, teacher, and mental health advocate who worked tirelessly to shed light on the mental health needs of the Black community and other underrepresented communities.
Each July, folks raise awareness to the mental health needs and statistics of the BIPOC community; of those that are often overlooked.
In a recent study, it showed that among adults with mental health conditions, 48% of white Americans received services. Additionally, only 31% of black Americans and Hispanic Americans and 22% of Asian Americans received them.
Photo taken from the Trevor Project Instagram account; art by @shegotthepink for @diall.app.
BIPOC communities are significantly more likely to develop mental health conditions, and one of the major barriers to mental health treatment is access and the need for understanding mental health support.
Lack of cultural understanding by health care providers is a big contributor. For instance, this includes language differences, stigma of mental health conditions and cultural presentation of symptoms.
All of the information for this newsletter was pulled from this article, this article, and this article.