2021 BIPOC Mental Health Month Toolkit

Formally recognized in June 2008, Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month was created to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face in regard to mental illness in the US. Bebe Moore Campbell 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. To continue the visionary work of Bebe Moore Campbell, each year MHA develops a public education campaign dedicated to addressing the mental health needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

This year’s theme is Strength in Communities, where we will be highlighting alternative mental health supports created by BIPOC and queer and trans BIPOC (QTBIPOC), for BIPOC and QTBIPOC. The 2021 toolkit will examine community-developed systems of support created to fill in gaps within traditional systems that may overlook cultural and historical factors that impede BIPOC and QTBIPOC mental health. It will explore three topic areas: community care, self-directed care, and cultural care and why these types of care are valid and valuable choices people can make for their mental health.

• Community care refers to ways in which communities of color have provided support to each other. This can include things such as mutual aid, peer support, and healing circles.
• Self-directed care is an innovative practice that emphasizes that people with mental health and substance use conditions, or their representatives if applicable, have decision-making authority over services they receive.
• Cultural care refers to practices that are embedded in cultures that are passed down through generations that naturally provide resiliency and healing.

For access to the 2021 Toolkit, please click here: https://mhanational.org/BIPOC-mental-health-month.

Provided with permission from Mental Health America, a PsychU Supporter. To learn more about MHA, please visit their website at www.mhanational.org