We Ain’t Crazy! Just Coping with a Crazy System – Pathways into the Black Population for Eliminating Mental Health Disparities
Source: California Reducing Disparities Project
Resource Type: Documents and Publications
Focus Population: Family Members, Peers, People with Serious Mental Illness (SMI)
Topics: Culturally Specific Strengths and Resilience, Mental Health Treatment
This report outlines the community-defined practices from the perspective of the population that support indicators of mental health disparities for Black Californians and idenitifies disparities in mental health access, availability, quality and outcomes of care regarding mental health issues. This project outlines the on-going lack of appropriate preventive or early intervention of mental health services as well as services to initiate programs that address the disparities among Black Californians. Without a doubt, issues of depression, anxiety, alcohol, substance abuse, eating disorders, sleep disorders, sexual disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar, dementias, stress, death and dying, suicide, domestic violence and a host of other physical causes of mental suffering, can be understood and treated. Therefore, a focus on early interventions that includes an educational approach regarding mental illness can lead to greater understanding, and awareness of treatment methods that eliminate incidents of disparities among Black Californians.