HHS Awards $3 Million for Initiative to Promote Black Youth Mental Health

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced more than $3 million in grants to eight organizations for a new initiative to demonstrate policy effectiveness to promote Black youth mental health (BYMH). This three-year initiative will help identify health and wellness policies that are successful in improving BYMH, including suicide prevention.

“Over the past decade, Black children under age 13 years are twice as likely to die by suicide compared to their White peers,” said RDML Felicia Collins, M.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health. “With this new initiative, we intend to identify specific policies that exhibit a meaningful impact on mental health for Black youth and to spread the word about these effective policy efforts.”

Awardees are expected to use a policy assessment framework to identify existing policies that they expect to promote mental health in Black youth.  Awardees subsequently will test the impact of these policies on Black youth mental health in varied settings, such as schools, faith-based organizations, community centers, health centers, or other community agency settings.

In October 2020, HHS released a report to Congress on African American Youth Suicide. The report analyzed National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data between 2014–2017, to examine the risk and precipitating factors in non-Hispanic Black children and non-Hispanic White children aged 10 to 17, who died by suicide. The report also examined youth suicide demographics and epidemiology, risk factors associated with higher suicide rates among Black compared to White youth, and evidence-based interventions to prevent youth suicide ideation and behavior.

The eight new BYMH awardees will conduct their projects across eight states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, and Rhode Island. The project period for the Demonstrating Policy Effectiveness to Promote Black Youth Mental Health initiative begins on September 30, 2022.

The awardees are:

Award Recipient	Award Amount
The Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board for Montgomery County	$400,000
The Amelia Ann Adams Whole Life Center	$350,201
Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona	$350,000
Board of Regents, Nevada System of Higher Education, on behalf of The University of Nevada, Reno	$350,000
Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies	$400,000
Minnesota Department of Health	$400,000
Morehouse School of Medicine, Inc.	$399,799
Rhode Island Department of Health	$350,000
Total:	$3,000,000

For more information about OMH, visit www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov.

The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) is dedicated to improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate health disparities. Through its demonstration projects, OMH supports the identification of effective approaches for improving health outcomes with the goal of promoting the dissemination and sustainability of these approaches.

Tips on Identifying Suicide Risk In Black Youth

Suicide is a serious mental health concern. It often occurs along with symptoms of depression which can be treated with therapy. However, many are reluctant to seek professional help for mental health issues, especially in the Black community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the third leading cause of death among Black youth. Therefore, it is important that we identify risk early to prevent actual suicide attempts.

Read more: Tips on Identifying Suicide Risk In Black Youth

What’s At The Root Of Black Mental Health Stigma?

According to Sa’uda Dunlap, Assistant Director of Social Work at Kings County Hospital Center, the stigma of mental health in the African- American community is a major deterrent for seeking treatment.

“I’ve been treating people for 6+ years and it is at the top of the list when I explore concerns consumers and families have about treatment. Many African Americans fear that they will be labeled “crazy” or will be “locked up.” As a clinician, I use my initial contacts with consumers and families to address fears of being involuntarily hospitalized by explaining the difference between typical mental health challenges and “being crazy,’ including the role of insight and self-efficacy.”

Family can be a great support system but they can also be judgmental and the reason for the stigma. This largely occurs in the African-American community. With roots grounded in religion, many view it as something that should not be discussed.

A recent podcast on Huffington Post’s website asserts that over 66% of Protestants have never heard a sermon about mental health. The lack of education in the church community and in the African-American community is a key issue for the stigma in mental health.

Read more: What’s At The Root Of Black Mental Health Stigma?