The Black Youth Mental Health Initiative
The Congressional Black Caucus (2019), collected data and found that over the past few years, Black youth are at higher risk for suicidal ideation, attempts, and death by suicide. Death by suicide is the largest among Black children aged 5-11, and has risen to the second leading cause of death for Black youth aged 15-19 as found by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2020). Furthermore, Black youth are facing larger depressive episodes, substance abuse, and serious mental health concerns and illness as revealed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2020). Additionally, Black youth are also more inclined to be subject to institutional oppression through systems such as healthcare, economic, criminal justice, legal, educational, and environmental.
These trends exist across communities in the United States including Richmond Virginia. In particular, Richmond Public Schools (RPS), which serves over 22,000 students from pre-k to 12th grade, is a microcosm of such mental health concerns where students encounter similar rates of serious mental illness as well as suicidality. For example, in the 20-21 school year, there were 150 suicide risk assessments and by the midpoint of the 21-22 school year the number of suicide risk assessment rose to 197. RPS has begun to engage in efforts to address these rising concerns through counseling services, community partnerships, healing circles, social-emotional curriculum, crisis response & threat assessment, suicide risk assessment, and trauma informed coaching strategies, including implementing policies which guide these practices, as a part of their multi-tiered systems of support framework.
The Department of Health and Human Services grant was awarded to the University of Arizona (PI Dr. Renae D. Mayes) in partnership with Richmond Public Schools to start the Black Youth Mental Health Initiative to further support mental health policy development and implementation in RPS. The Black Youth Mental Health Initiative (BYMHI) will expand and sustain the current policy efforts in RPS through the following: 1) Suicide prevention and postvention; 2) District and school culture and climate; 3) Universal screening for students; 4) Systematic professional development for district leaders, faculty/staff, and community; 5) preventative student mental health services; 6) responsive mental health services; 7) Social and emotional learning curriculum for faculty/staff and students; 8) Restorative justice practices; 9) School-family-community partnerships; and 10) Trauma-informed practices. The BYMHI will engage in a comprehensive model of policy assessment, intervention, and evaluation (PRECEDE-PROCEED model) under the oversight of a community-based advisory council. For more information about the Precede-Proceed model click here. Questions about the grant? Please contact Dr. Renae D. Mayes, PI for BYMHI.
