Awareness Months – Information about mental health and Black businesses

RESOURCES FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

JULY AND AUGUST BRING US THREE IMPORTANT TOPICS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT.

RETHINKING HUNGER: SECOND HARVEST’S “SOCIAL ENTERPRISES” FEED HOPE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

What can you achieve in nearly four decades of fighting against hunger? Since 1983, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has built a network of over 500 feeding partners and established hunger relief programs that now serve more than a quarter of a million meals every day.

Earlier this year, Second Harvest welcomed a new leader to carry on that legacy: Derrick Chubbs, who formerly led the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin, stepped up as the food bank’s new president and CEO in January.

With one in seven Central Floridians still impacted by food insecurity, Chubbs understands there is still work to be done. “We’re committed to fighting hunger – and feeding hope – in our community,” says Chubbs. “Our mission is not just about making sure everyone has enough to eat today; it’s about tackling the root causes of food insecurity so that no one goes hungry tomorrow.” In addition to managing Second Harvest’s extensive distribution network, he will oversee the expansion of social enterprise initiatives that provide stable revenue for the food bank’s workforce training programs – including the “Catering for Good” event team and retail product line, “A Spoon Full of Hope.” To learn more visit, www.cateringforgood.org and www.aspoonfullofhope.org.

MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Overall, mental health conditions occur in Black and African American (B/AA) people in America at about the same or less frequency than in White Americans. However, the historical Black and African American experience in America has and continues to be characterized by trauma and violence more often than for their White counterparts and impacts emotional and mental health of both youth and adults.

Historical dehumanization, oppression, and violence against Black and African American people has evolved into present day racism—structural, institutional, and individual—and cultivates a uniquely mistrustful and less affluent community experience, characterized by a myriad of disparities including inadequate access to and delivery of care in the health system. Processing and dealing with layers of individual trauma on top of new mass traumas from COVID-19 (uncertainty, isolation, grief from financial or human losses), police brutality and its fetishization in news media, and divisive political rhetoric adds compounding layers of complexity for individuals to responsibly manage.

Help-seeking behavior is affected by mistrust of the medical system and often begins with faith-based outreach. However, MHA screening data shows that Black and African American people who screen positive for depression self-identify as planning to seek help at higher rates than the general population says they will seek help. Unfortunately, Black and African American providers, who are known to give more appropriate and effective care to Black and African American help-seekers, make up a very small portion of the behavioral health provider workforce (see treatment statistics below). Because of these factors and more, Black and African American people are more likely to experience chronic and persistent, rather than episodic, mental health conditions. Yet, hope for recovery should remain, as light is shed on these issues - and the general public holds accountable policymakers and health systems to evolve better systems which eliminate inequities in mental health services.

BLACK BUSINESS MONTH

Black Business Month is celebrated in August—it’s a time to acknowledge and appreciate Black-owned businesses across the nation and all that they represent in the country’s continual striving for diversity and equality. Denise Moore, CEO of the Black Business Alliance in Peoria, Ill., has this to say about the importance of Black Business month: “Black Business Month is exciting because it gives us an opportunity to focus on a community that is far too often underrepresented when it comes to access to capital and opportunities to build wealth.”

When we celebrate the contribution of Black business owners and entrepreneurs, it pays homage to them and their legacies, especially since celebrating this month recognizes the importance of Black-owned businesses when it comes to contributing to the nation’s economy as well. Approximately 10% of all American businesses are Black-owned, and if we look at what statistics say about minority-owned businesses, about 30% of these would belong to Black business owners. The primary sectors in which Black-owned businesses operate include health care, social work, repair and maintenance, beauty salons, restaurants, and more. Black businesses across the country are booming and on the rise, with Washington D.C. having the highest ratio of black-owned businesses, a whopping 28%. These businesses also have an important role to play toward supporting student and education by giving funds toward scholarship of African American Students, here is a list of numerous scholarship provided to AfricanAmerican’s.

Black Business Month started in 2004 when engineering entrepreneur Frederick E. Jordan partnered with president and executive editor of the scholarly publishing company eAccess Corp,’ John William Templeton, to “drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African-American businesses,” in order to highlight and empower Black business owners all over, especially given the unique challenges faced by minority business owners.