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Join us in bringing racial equity to mental health supports for people of color through innovative community collaborations.
Most Black residents will never see a therapist, let alone a Black therapist. Only 4% of psychologists and 2% of psychiatrists are reported to be Black (American Psychological Association 2018, American Psychiatric Association 2022). We have a medical system that was created for white individuals, and has historically caused harm to Black patients (i.e. The Tuskegee Study). Within this system of few Black mental health providers and an inaccessible, hostile medical establishment, Black individuals continue to lean on trusted folks in their communities.
CORE's flagship programs respond to this need.
- Our Fellowship program supports Black graduate students in mental health degree programs financially and with networking.
- Our Community Mental Health Supportersprogram creates a community of practice among Black hair stylists, barbers, and pastors to better equip them to support community members who come to them with substance abuse and mental health issues.
Fellowship Program
Since 2021, CORE has supported 76 Black mental health graduate students with fellowships. The fellowship comes with a $2000 award ($152,000 total to date), and critical connections to Black mental health leaders, who provide essential wisdom on navigating predominantly white workplaces.
Take a look at our case study "Supporting the Work of Black Mental Health Providers"
Our fellowship program aims to remedy this disparity and provides financial support and critical connections to Black leaders in the mental health field and to other Black students.
We need your financial support to continue to offer CORE fellowships to the next generation of Black mental health students.
Brian Newkirk (below left) shares his story. Formerly a student at Lesley University's counseling psychology master's program, he is currently in Clark University's clinical psychology PhD program. After spending his entire career in finance, Brian is dedicating himself to serving and promoting mental health services to underserved populations. "The fellowship granted me access to a community of incredible Black professionals where representation truly matters. This experience provided me with a community that acts as a source of strength and support as I continue my professional journey towards supporting others."
Why do we need these fellowships? There is a well-documented need for more Black mental health providers to ensure culturally relevant, safe spaces for Black patients to navigate the complexities of their lives. However, there are significant barriers to Black students in pursuing mental health degrees. Most mental health students are required to do unpaid internships to get a degree and this coupled with the significant wealth gap for Black/African American students, makes it a struggle to enter the field. Additionally, most Black students will be one of the few students of color in their classes, and rarely have Black professors or models of Black leaders in the mental health field.
Community Mental Health Supporters
We know many people of color access mental health support from trusted leaders in their communities whom they interact with regularly. These Community Mental Health Supporters are found in non-traditional, non-institutional settings such as community health workers, prison parents, youth mentors, pastors, hairdressers, and barbers. They are meeting community mental health needs and often provide critical prevention services.
Since 2022, CORE has worked with 21 Community Mental Health Supporters to build a community of practice and provide training to give Supporters tools, frameworks and language as they address substance use and mental health issues. Collectively we have broadened what the mental health workforce looks like with culturally relevant, community-based and community-supported interventions, while simultaneously increasing respect for the vital Supporter work individuals perform while in their professional roles. Supporters are trained in Screening Brief Intervention Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), and participate in convenings to build community with each other around this work.
The CORE team is proud to say eight pastors, one priestess, eleven hair stylists and one barber have participated and are making a difference in their community. To quote one supporter, "There was a lot of great useful tools! I feel better prepared and more confident on how to have a conversation!"
With your generous gift, CORE will continue grow, support, and inspire Black practitioners who make an impact in their communities.
Please be sure to share this campaign (fundrazr.com/CORE_MentalHealth) with your friends, family, colleagues via social media, email, and word-of-mouth.
Thank you for making a difference!
You can make a one-time or recurring donation by clicking on the "Support CORE!" button above.
If you prefer, you can mail us a check. Checks must be made out to Sponsor, Inc or Mission.Earth and mailed to the following address:
Mission.Earth
1257 Worcester Road, #312
Framingham, MA 01701
All donations are tax deductible. TIN - 81-0741435. If you donate through the link, you will automatically receive a tax receipt for your donation.
REQUIRED: Include the name of the organization (CORE Mental
Health) to which you are donating in the memo of any checks. This will
ensure that your donation is credited to the correct project.
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