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WeSpeakNYC: A Toolkit for Overcoming Mental Health Stigma in BIPOC Communities
Research has consistently demonstrated that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities experience disproportionately low access and utilization of mental health services in the United States. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently found only...
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Stories of Stigma in the Healthcare System
For Hands Across Long Island, Inc. (HALI), stigma in healthcare is personal. As a peer-run organization, our mental health recovery “lived expertise” informs our services, which all address structural stigma or population-level disparities experienced by people having psychiatric diagnoses...
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Beyond the Pain: Insights From Individuals Living With Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is a significant contributor to disability among Americans, with an estimated 51.6 million people experiencing chronic pain that lasts longer than three months. (Rikard, Strahan, Schit, & Guy, 2023). Regardless of its source – whether medical or unexplained origin – chronic...
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Peer Support Workforce Shortages Anticipated: What You Can Do
Imagine this: You are the manager in a behavioral health agency that has decided to hire peer support providers in your workforce. This position can give the agency a boost in revenue, additional help in needed areas with personnel shortages, and hope and practical help to service participants. You...
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The Road to Recovery Through Housing and Employment
People USA is thrilled to contribute to this important issue of Behavioral Health News on housing and employment. We first considered sharing data demonstrating our positive outcomes in these areas. Instead, we thought the true story of a person with lived experience would better illustrate the...
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Lived Experience as a Professional Pathway
The philosophy of The Mental Health Association of Westchester’s (MHA) housing and employment services and peer support is rooted in the principles of person-centered practice and the belief that individuals with behavioral health conditions – even those with histories of instability or little...
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Organizational Strategies for Anti-Stigma Work Within Our Four Walls
Mental health stigma affects all of us. It is so ingrained in our society, that we have to consciously choose to share or not to share our experiences or connections to mental health challenges. This conscious level decision-making brings a processing we engage in asking ourselves either, “Am I...
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Insights From Four Stigma-Reducing Roundtables Organized by the New York State Office of Mental Health and Behavioral Health News
The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) in partnership with Behavioral Health News (BHN) organized four roundtable discussions as part of a larger strategic plan to reduce the stigma of mental illness. The roundtable panels consisted of experts working in community-based agencies, most...
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An Antidote to Stigma
Stigma against persons with mental illness has waned in recent years, as affirmed by a Harris Poll administered on behalf of the American Psychological Association. This poll found a significant majority of Americans (87%) believed there is no shame in having a mental health diagnosis, and a...
