YOUTH PANEL LOOKS TO SPREAD AWARENESS, BREAK DOWN BARRIERS SURROUNDING MENTAL HEALTH

July is minority mental health awareness month and the No More Martyrs Foundation held a youth panel at Birmingham Southern College on Wednesday to help raise awareness about the rise of suicide among young African Americans.

Suicide rates for black children aged 5-12 are roughly twice as high for those of similarly aged white children, according to researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Nadia Richardson, the founder and executive director of No More Martyrs, believes that the key to bringing down high suicide rates is breaking down stereotypes about mental health.

“I want individuals to feel comfortable and empowered to prioritize their own mental health and push past fear, apprehension, bias or stereotypes that they may have about others that are living with mental health concerns so that we as a community can support each other,” Richardson said.

Mental health advocate T-Kea Blackmon said there is no prejudice to mental health.

“Mental health is a human thing,” Blackmon. “It’s not a black, white thing. Everyone has mental health just like we all have physical health, so with things like this we give people permission to say that it’s ok to not be ok.”

No More Martyrs is holding its minority mental health summit Thursday at BSC.