South Suburban, Cook County, Illinois 


470,289

Population

39.4

Median Age- Residents in Hospital

62.9

% of Hospital Residents Who are Black or Hispanic

50+

% Will Most Likely Need Support Before, During or After Hazardous Events

The Need

Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities are experiencing disproportionate Covid-19 impacts, PTSD, and heightened racial trauma, and at the same time, face many barriers to mental health care and trauma-informed care.







Inequities

In Our Community

There are existing inequities in mental health support, trauma-informed education, and trauma-informed care that are being compounded by the current disproportionate impacts of the pandemic and racial trauma.

Marginalized Communities

Mental Health

Support

There are various factors as to why racial, ethnic, gender and sexual minorities receive poor mental health outcomes, such as lack of accessibility to mental health services, discrimination, cultural stigmas and a lack of awareness surrounding mental health and trauma informed care:

 

These groups experience mental health disparities:


Black/African Americans 

Latinos/Hispanics

Indigenous/Native/Alaska Natives

Senior citizens 

Appalachian and Rural Communities 

Asian Americans/ Pacific Islanders 

LGBTQAI+ 

Muslim Americans 

Refugees/ Asylum seekers/ Survivors of Displacement 

Sexual abuse victims/ survivors 

Women 


If we don’t address the mental health disparities of marginalized groups, it will lead to more homelessness, incarceration, financial instability, unemployment, self medicating, addiction, grief, depression, loneliness, social isolation, anxiety and suicide/suicide ideation.


Causes

Why Inequities  Exist

Lack of Access 

There is an overall lack of access to mental health for BIPOC as compared to whites due to issues like unemployment, economics, a distrust of the medical community (especially due to the history of racism in medicine), as well as a lack of cultural awareness by some white medical professionals in the healthcare industry.


Racial Trauma 

Racial violence and injustices against BIPOC cause an increase in racial trauma. Racial trauma is causing Black people to experience PTSD and a worsening of anxiety and depression. 


Stigma 

Community stigma around mental health care—that it is a sign of weakness, unimportant, or humiliating—can hold Black people back from seeking the care or support they need to survive.



Lack of Representation There is a shortage of BIPOC trauma-informed practitioners and psychotherapists. 

What Research Says

   

 Read our Trauma Informed Policy Memo on Southern Economic Advancement Project’s site, as part of their SouthStrong initiative.


Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf


Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General Advisory

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf


Mental Health Crisis and Young Black Men w/ Biden-Harris Administration: 

https://www.youtube.com/live/Xd59JS_wUsI?feature=share


Read the Advocate Health South Suburbs Community Health Needs Assessment Report: https://tinyurl.com/CHNAReport23

   

A Rapid Review Exploring the Role of Yoga in Healing Psychological Trauma:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9741324/


Yoga as an Adjunctive Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial:

https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/uploads/docs/Yoga-F-J-Clin-Psychiat-1.pdf


The Traumatic Roots of White Body Supremacy and Racism in America:

https://psychiatryinstitute.com/podcast/traumatic-supremacy-racism-menakem/


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