Race, Racism & Mental Health
Now is a time to listen. Now is a time to understand and support. MADO Healthcare stands with our community and those across the nation in the fight against racism and injustice. We are amongst the many standing together peacefully with the message that Black Lives Matter. MADO Healthcare recognizes and values the richness of diversity among our staff and our client population served.
During this time of anguish, we encourage our community to share knowledge and resources for understanding race and racism. We encourage our staff to recognize how the events and experiences unfolding around us are affecting your emotional and mental health. Please join us in spreading messages of hope, understanding and acceptance.
Resources
“Experiencing and witnessing racism in any of its forms has traumatic effects that can build up with time and repetition.”
Race, Racism & Mental Health Resources
“We at The Kennedy Forum Illinois want to provide you with resources and actions you can take to help promote psychological safety and begin to address trauma caused by racism in our community:
- Listen. It is a simple word, but a powerful (and often difficult) action for people to do. For so many of us, we cannot begin to imagine the challenges that people of color face on a day-to-day basis. Oppression, violence, threats, and microaggressions are real, and traumatic. Listening to and trying to understand our community members provides us with the opportunity to acknowledge and respect their experiences.
- Become an Antiracist. The Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture released this webpage, “How to be Antiracist” that discusses how all individuals, regardless of race, can do more through self-awareness, self-reflection and action. It is no longer enough to be “non-racist”; we must do more if we want to see change.
- Understand how racism undermines mental well-being and contributes to mental health disorders such as trauma. Become educated about how we can help those affected heal from the wounds.
- Practice and promote self-care by accessing free trainings, such as our recent webinar “During the Pandemic: Strategies to Help Manage Stress, Improve Self-Care, and Reduce Isolation”. Practicing self-love and care enables us all to be more compassionate towards our communities.”