Right now, we’re all facing stressors to our mental wellbeing—and trauma is compounding it—individually, as families, and collectively. But when communities that are experiencing trauma take the lead in change, they discover and build on existing strengths and assets. Prevention Institute has curated a set of resources that delve into mental health challenges that have surfaced or been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the constant recurrence of racist violence. We want to share these reminders about the resilience that exists within our communities and how it can be built upon as a pathway toward healing, justice, and hopefulness.
Blog: Communities build strengths, assets, and resilience into their pandemic response In this blog post, PI’s Ruben Cantu describes how the
Making Connections for Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Men and Boys coalitions are responding to COVID-19 with the same energy and engagement that has made them a national model. During the pandemic, many Making Connections sites found themselves at the center of response efforts and able to juggle upstream approaches with downstream response—from advocating for bus passes for youth to access free lunch at schools during quarantine, to helping safely distribute food in their neighborhoods. Their work shows how advocacy can be an antidote to mental health challenges. This op-ed by youth organizers from the San Diego Making Connections coalition is another example of advocacy and shows how resistance builds resilience:
Commentary: We are three young black men living in City Heights. This is why we protest.
Podcast: Applying a racial justice lens to mental health and wellbeing July is BIPOC Mental Health Month—a time to think more deeply about how to support mental health and wellbeing among those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In this new
podcast, PI’s Sana Chehimi interviews Isha Weerasinghe, a senior policy analyst on the youth team at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Isha describes the mental health impact on people of color and people with few economic resources of struggling to make ends meet, facing racism and discrimination, and fighting battles day after day when you feel like the systems are against you—which in many ways they are. She and CLASP recommend offering peer support in non-traditional spaces, incorporating cultural healing practices into mental health approaches, and listening to community members about what to prioritize as first steps. Isha also discusses what is needed to achieve an equitable COVID-19 recovery and begin dismantling systems that perpetuate structural violence and racism.
Webinar recording: The Role of Preventionists in Accelerating Health Equity and Communities of Wellbeing PI’s Sheila Savannah discusses how prevention practitioners can support communities impacted by social isolation and substance misuse using the Tool for Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE) and Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACE|R) framework. Opioid overdose deaths have
increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic. In this webcast for the 2020 Ohio Prevention Conference, Sheila emphasizes the importance of inviting the people who are most impacted by this crisis to the table to voice their experiences and concerns as a starting place for developing trauma-informed solutions. As trust and a sense of belonging develop, hope and aspiration can emerge, and community members will begin to articulate what a pathway to something better looks like in their local context.
There are several BIPOC groups that are expanding opportunities for understanding historical trauma, growing peer support circles, and working collectively to dismantle systemic oppression.
Community mental health and wellbeing occur as we strengthen our belief in each other. This is how we celebrate culture and its capacity to help us express pain, repair trust, rejuvenate, and create space for truth and reconciliation. Advocacy assures that there are as many options as possible to do so.
Remember we are all interconnected. Stay safe, get involved, and please protect and encourage each other.
