Posted on July 29, 2021
Arlington, VA — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and The Steve Fund have established a new partnership to promote programs and services to support the mental health of Black families and other families of color, uniting two organizations with a mutual goal to build knowledge about mental health and access to needed resources. The initial focus of the NAMI and The Steve Fund partnership is Black families and communities — a timely and important priority, as Black Americans are reporting increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation at greater rates than people of other ethnic and majority groups. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past 15 months, Black adults have experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms than white adults. Despite the needs, only 1 in 3 Black adults who need mental health care receive it — problems that are compounded by lower rates of health care coverage. “Partnerships like this are even more critical during times of shared hardship,” said Daniel H. Gillison Jr., CEO of NAMI. “Disparate levels of use and access to mental health care, as well as racial injustice, existed long before the pandemic. But the gaps are even wider now, especially for communities of color. Our goal is to work with The Steve Fund to close as many of these gaps as possible, while raising expectations for more equity in mental health going forward.” “The Steve Fund’s mission is to promote the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color, and building the mental health knowledge, resources and skills of their families is an essential part of our strategy,” said Evan Rose, president of the board and co-founder of The Steve Fund. “We will expand the reach of our mental health educational workshops, support groups, thought leadership convenings and family-focused programming through our partnership with NAMI” Rose said. “This partnership is a promising way to give young people of color an equal chance at mental health by providing help their families need to support young people and other members.” The goals and benefits of the partnership are to:
Email: [email protected]
For all other marketing and communications needs and requests, please contact [email protected]
NAMI HelpLine is available M-F, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET. Call 800-950-6264,
text “helpline” to 62640, or chat online. In a crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).