02/08/2023
As we continue to honor Black History Month, we’d like to highlight the Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Consultation, Inc. It was originally founded in 1983 by two seasoned mental health professionals and social visionaries who had devoted their careers to the mental health needs of communities of color.
The founders—Maxie T. Collier, M.D. (a private practice psychiatrist and Baltimore’s first Black Health Commissioner from 1987 to 1990) and Fikre Workneh, MSW (a social worker originally from Ethiopia who worked with Veterans)—were frustrated by the entrenched, life-threatening health disparities among Black residents of Baltimore City, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), violence, and su***de. For over 30 years, BMHA has been providing grassroots advocacy and a platform to engage national thought leaders, local leaders and the community in proactive and solutions-focused dialogue to educate and change both the narrative and perceptions regarding whole health and mental illness.
SOURCE: Black Mental Health Alliance
blackmentalhealth.com
