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VA is partnering with four technology organizations — CaringBridge, IBM, Objective Zero Foundation, and RallyPoint — that share VA’s commitment to preventing Veteran suicide. These organizations are working with VA to promote social connected-ness and expand the reach of lifesaving resources using mobile applications and online platforms. 

“Partnerships are a vital component of the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide, which we are implementing at the national, state, and local levels,” said Dr. Keita Franklin, executive director, suicide prevention, for VA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. “Our goal is to prevent suicide among Veterans nationwide and across the globe, reaching even those who do not, and may never, come to VA for care. To do that, we are working closely with dozens of important partners across sectors to expand our reach beyond VA facility walls, to deliver care and support to at-risk Veterans wherever they live, work, and thrive.”

As identified in the national strategy, engaging community partners in the technology sector is an important component of VA’s public health approach to suicide prevention. While each of our technology partners offers their own unique services, they all use technology to help service members and Veterans get the care they need whenever and wherever they need it.

“VA will not stop working to prevent Veteran suicide, but we can’t do it alone. Everyone has a role to play in preventing Veteran suicide,” Franklin said. “VA’s partnerships in the technology sector enhance social connected-ness and expand the reach of VA’s suicide prevention resources through these technology platforms. We are working with partners in the technology space and other sectors to ensure we reach all Veterans with lifesaving resources and support.”

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive free, confidential support and crisis intervention available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, text to 838255, or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

Read more at the VA.gov.

In many Asian cultures, it’s common for grandparents to take care of, and even raise, grandchildren as their parents work. For grandparents whose children and grandchildren live in the United States, maintaining that tradition often means making a trek across the world. As the number of Asian-Americans in the United States increases, so too does the number of older immigrants from Asia (according to the State Department, 30,602 immigrants from Asia in 2014 were parents of current Asian-American U.S. citizens over the age of 21). Often these older immigrants don’t speak English, and don’t adapt to a new language and culture easily. Most can’t drive and are thus confined to their child’s house.

Research has shown that such circumstances of loneliness and social isolation are key predictors of depression and other mental health issues in seniors. Social isolation intensifies for many as they experience increasingly limited mobility, and their friends begin to die. But it’s particularly an issue for what Abul Hossen of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh terms “late-in-life immigrants,” because, Hossen notes, of their “recent arrival, unfamiliar social environment, poverty, poor health and communication problems.”

The language barrier may be a significant factor: A 2011 University of California study of 20,712 Asian-American elders found that Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese respondents — most of whom reported limited English proficiency — were more likely to express symptoms like hopelessness, worthlessness, or even major depression; but Japanese respondents — of whom 9 in 10 reported speaking English every well — were the least likely to report those same symptoms. Compared to non-Hispanic white respondents, all groups who were more likely to report distress were also less likely to have seen a mental health professional. Which is to say: Of those Asian-American seniors who might need help, very few of them actually seek it.

There are two likely reasons for this: the strong cultural stigma against mental illness, and the dearth of culturally appropriate support. Remarkably few mental health professionals speak Asian languages, and those who do tend to be concentrated in large metropolises such as New York City and Sacramento. A 2013 report of the U.S. health workforce noted a mere 2.8% of psychologists identified as Asian.

It’s not just about the language barriers though — cultural barriers exist as well. Most nursing homes serve food and organize activities that Asian seniors aren’t used to. Asian cultures often place importance on folk tradition for healing (such as ayurveda or traditional Chinese medicine), a sentiment not usually shared by doctors in traditional nursing homes.

Fortunately, there are people working to provide Asian-American elders with more opportunities to socialize and receive culturally appropriate services. Mental health professionals are experimenting with technological solutions that would help Asians in isolated communities access mental health care. For instance, Matthew Miller, associate professor at University of Maryland, is creating a Korean-language video series to educate Korean-American elders about mental health issues with strategies for coping and normalizing the experience.

Read more at BuzzFeed.com.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. The Love More Movement (LMM) has been selected as the Partner of the Month for July in honor of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

The LMM’s mission is to preserve the viability of indigenous leadership by facilitating the healing and resilience building process of youth, adult and senior leaders. These leaders will then become a platform for Hope, Empathy, Affirmations and Love on a journey to transformation as they gain energy in the building of Healthy, Healing, Safe, Loving, Resilient, Thriving, Creative and Drug Free Communities.

As a community-based organization anchored in the Washington Metropolitan area, LMM strives to build leadership, develop and build transformative platforms and bridges to Love, Joy, Hope and Peace in some of the most challenging situations and environments.

Some of the Healing (initiatives) of the movement are:

• Transformative Life Coaching
• Transformational Indigenous Leadership Training
• The Love More Memoirs
• Seniors Offering Unconditional Love (S.O.U.L)
• Passports Through Education
• Social Eyeez Media
• Steam Bridge

Learn more about The Love More Movement and the array of different programs that they have to offer.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.

Mental health is the next frontier of diversity and inclusion within organizations. Black Americans are no different when it comes to the prevalence of mental health conditions when compared to the rest of the population. According to the Office of Minority Health, Black Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population.

This Mind Share Partners interview seeks to explore and uncover unique experiences and barriers to workplace mental health in the Black American community. Mind Share Partners came across Imade Nibokun Borha, an award-winning writer, journalist, and founder of an online movement called “Depressed While Black” where she shares her personal mental health journey in an effort to combat the stigma surrounding depression and other mental health conditions in the black community. 

Mind Share Partners sat down with Imade to talk about how the workplace specifically affects Black American mental health. The interview also dove into the unique stigma experienced within the community and distinctive actions and perspectives businesses can take to support Black American mental health.

Mind Share Partners: You launched a movement called “Depressed While Black” where you share a lot of your own mental health experiences. What does “depressed while black” mean?

Imade: “This movement began as my creative thesis in school. It was for my non-fiction writing MFA and we had to create a thesis in 2013. I didn’t think I had anything to write about. In the black community, it’s common not to have a father and be raised in a single-parent household. I didn’t think I was going through anything important.

I thought about how I was diagnosed with major depressive order back in 2012, where I was speeding on a Los Angelos highway wanting to die. I thought maybe this was something I should write about and started with the MFA pieces, which has now evolved into an in-progress book and an online community. I wanted to put my experiences out there because I didn’t know anyone else who was black and dealing with depression. It was a way for me to both find my community and ask for help. Talking about my experiences is the reason why I’m alive. For someone like me who has chronic suicidal thoughts and impulsive actions, if I’m not talking about what I’m going through I am dead. Depressed While Black is definitely an act of survival.”

Mind Share Partners: Does being in an underrepresented minority in the workforce exacerbate mental health conditions?

Imade: “Absolutely. Most of the challenge around my own mental health has been unemployment and the difficulty of filing unemployment which causes financial struggles—including the inability to have a wellness team like a therapist or psychiatrist. For the black community and other minorities, we have a higher unemployment rate and are unable to have health insurance to allow us to receive mental health treatment.

It’s a challenge when you are a young, black journalist. I was thrown into a majority white environment and was the only black person in my newsroom. So many news pieces are going on about black folks and police brutality, and all I saw on the cover of my own magazine were black people with mugshots.”

Read more or listen to the interview on ThriveGlobal.com.

With African Americans leading the country with troubling statistics in areas like unemployment, child abuse and neglect, and domestic violence, all of which can exacerbate stress, it is perhaps not surprising that the African American community leads the country in mental-health struggles.

In the early 1970s, the final report of the Joint Commission on Mental Health of Children acknowledged that racism was, for some, America’s “number one public health problem.”

For African-American adults, perceived racism may cause mental health symptoms similar to trauma and could lead to some physical health disparities between blacks and other populations in the United States, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.Most Americans, particularly African Americans, underestimate the impact of mental disorders. Many believe symptoms of mental illnesses, such as depression, are “just the blues.”

Often, African Americans turn to family, church and community to cope. Forgiveness and grace are, indeed, hallmarks of the Black Church. In one study, approximately 85 percent of African-Americans respondents described themselves as “fairly religious” or “religious”, and prayer was among the most common way of coping with stress.

African Americans are 20 percent more likely to report having serious psychological distress than whites, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Services. Yet, adult African Americans, especially those with higher levels of education, are less likely to seek mental health services than their white counterparts.

African Americans may be resistant to seek treatment because they fear it may reflect badly on their families — an outward admission of the family’s failure to handle problems internally. For many African Americans who suffer from mental disorders, most hold negative attitudes about people who obtain mental health care. No matter how bad their situation was, they didn’t want to be one of “those people.”

Many African Americans, especially those who’ve ascended the socio-economic and professional ladder in the face of institutionalized racism, struggle with feeling compelled to be strong. Some are so socially isolated that they feel they can’t trust anyone or share anything and must go it alone.

Mental illness takes many forms; therefore, the issues those battling mental health face often go unseen. For some Black celebrities with mental health issues, life is often filled with tragedy and triumphs while engaging in a private and public battle. We go to their concerts and appearances; buy their music; stay glued to the television for the season’s hottest series. We watch African-American celebrities and public figures on the world stages entertain and inspire us every day, yet we pay no attention to the signs and symptoms that they are suffering in silence. Only once they spiral out of control, often into total self-destruction, do we began to wonder “if something is wrong.”

Like many things that influence us, hearing about the challenges with mental illness by celebrities and public figures in our community has been helpful in “breaking the silence”. Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and former U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. suffered from depression; Michael Jackson was said to have a condition which caused a negative pre-occupation with body image; Nina Simone suffered from bipolar disorder, as do Chris Brown, DMX, and Mike Tyson; Don Cornelius committed suicide; even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. suffered from depression and was suicidal.

Kanye West wisely sought, and received, mental health treatment. Is he really that different from the rest of us? Probably not as much as we’d like to think.

A cultural shift is needed to foster a climate in which friends and loved ones can seek non-judgmental support for a mental health condition. Education about mental disorders and the treatment process is a critical to reducing barriers to treatment among the African-American community. Suggestions for overcoming this barrier include public education campaigns, educational presentations at community venues, and open information sessions at local mental health clinics.

This could make the difference in helping others feel empowered to get the help they may need.

Read More on The Philadelphia Tribune

Shannon Jefferson was booked into Washington’s Whatcom County Jail on Feb. 26, 2014, for a probation violation and failing to appear in court on a fourth degree assault charge. Twelve days later, Jefferson tied a bed sheet to the window in her isolation cell and hanged herself. She was 36 years old and the mother of six.

Three years later, on Aug. 9, 2017, police arrested Paula Jefferson for drunken driving and took her to the Whatcom County Jail. The following day she was dead of apparent methadone intoxication. She was 48 and a mother of four.

Paula and Shannon Jefferson were both Lummi tribal members. They were also cousins.

Their deaths in the Whatcom County Jail highlight two stark realities: Native Americans are disproportionately more likely to be in Northwest jails. As a result, they are also more likely to die in jail. While Native Americans make up less than 2% of the population in Washington and Oregon, they represent more than 4.5% of jail deaths. That’s according to an analysis of Northwest jail deaths by OPB, KUOW and the Northwest News Network.

A recent study on Washington jail deaths by Columbia Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm, concluded that Native Americans may also die at a higher rate in Washington jails. However, the report cautioned that “the small sample set of Native people who died makes it difficult to draw any conclusion with significant certainty.”

The findings reinforce studies that show Native Americans, as the result of generational trauma and discrimination, experience higher rates of incarceration, chronic disease and suicide. In fact, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“I’ll be very frank here: This is an issue of race,” said Margaret Severson, a jails consultant and professor of social work at the University of Kansas.

In 2005, Severson co-authored a first-of-its-kind report on American Indian suicides in jail that found Native American inmates “tended to be less candid” when asked by jailers about their physical and mental health, as well as drug and alcohol use. The report attributed this, in part, to a reluctance to answer “intrusive” questions about mental health and the fact a white officer in uniform is an authority figure who “may symbolize longstanding oppression.” The report suggested that suicide risk assessments “tailored to the cultural backgrounds” of inmates might be more effective than “one-size-fits-all” screenings.

Standards developed by the American Correctional Association call for jail mental health care programs to take into account “gender, cultural and age issues.” But Severson said much more work is needed to address the plight of Native Americans in jail.

Read more on EastOregonian.com.