National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month Resources

July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Health Awareness Month. Formally recognized in June 2008, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, or Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Month, was created to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face regarding mental illness in the United States.

Mental Health America (MHA) released their 2024 BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit to “provide free, practical resources to help navigate mental health stigma, bridge generational differences, dismantle mental health myths, and encourage meaningful conversations.” Posters, tools, and fact sheets are also available. MHA’s BIPOC Mental Health Month page includes personal stories from BIPOC voices, graphics and shareables, and ways to learn more about BIPOC Mental Health. Some of those include:

• Sharing generational wisdom
• BIPOC mental health myth-busting
• Breaking down mental health stigma in BIPOC communities
• How to cope when your community is under attack

The AHRQ Academy includes several resources to help prepare for BIPOC Mental Health month. Their Health Equity Topic Brief represents a brief overview of the role of behavioral health integration in reducing disparities in health and healthcare. Items on stigma can be found in both the Unhealthy Alcohol Use, and the Substance Use Tools & Resources Collection (which also includes items on social determinants of health). In addition, the Academy Literature Collection includes journal articles and grey literature related to healthcare disparities. Resources from other organizations include:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI)