This important topic takes a global stage on October 10 th for World Mental Health Day. Make efforts to ensure decision-makers reflect the races and ethnicities of the populations they serve.Observed each year in the United States for the month of May, Mental Health Awareness Month is a critical conversation for corporate America.Encourage community and faith-based leaders to have positive dialogues and discussions around mental health issues to help reduce stigma.Evaluate policies for their potential to reinforce mental health stigma and revise or remove stigmatizing policies.Evaluate policies for their differential impact on social determinants of health, and, when needed, modify these policies or create new policies that ensure equitable access to resources for people from all race and ethnicity groups.Expand community-based mental health care that provides culturally responsive mental health services at low or no cost for youth and adults.Ensure mental healthcare services are culturally and linguistically appropriate.Provide cultural humility training to mental healthcare providers.Make efforts to recruit mental healthcare providers that reflect the race and ethnicity of the populations they serve.Make mental health educational materials available to all patients during their appointments, via patient portals, and in waiting rooms.Screen patients for depression and other mental health conditions and refer patients to accessible mental health care services.Explore referrals to mental health services to ensure those served can be efficiently connected with needed resources.
#Infographic of mental health free
Verify and promote available free and low-cost mental health resources. Establish and foster partnerships with other organizations to fill gaps in reach and/or expertise. Take intentional steps to increase the reach of mental health information to racial and ethnic minority groups through culturally responsive communication outlets. Ensure mental health educational materials are culturally and linguistically appropriate and follow health equity principles for communication such as using plain language. Measure the impact of racism on mental health and develop best practices for reducing racism and its consequences. Prioritize action on and/or meaningfully account for the potential influence of social determinants of health when designing mental health programs. Consider the data on mental health when developing organizational priorities and programs. Ensure mental health programming incorporates perspectives, ideas, and decision-making from appropriately representative people of racial and ethnic minority groups at all stages of programming – from planning to implementation to evaluation. First-hand experiences of racial discrimination, as well as witnessing or hearing about discrimination from others or in the media, can cause or intensify stress and racial trauma. 2,5,6 Racism contributes to unequal access to resources and services, including mental health care. 3 These obstacles may include lack of or insufficient health insurance, lack of racial and ethnic diversity among mental healthcare providers, lack of culturally competent providers, financial strain, and stigma. Mental health care is important for mental wellbeing, yet many people from racial and ethnic minority groups face obstacles in accessing needed care. Mental health issues may increase when people face additional stressors, on top of those related to COVID-19, and lack access to the resources and support needed to navigate these challenges. 2 These stressors, such as unemployment, loss of a loved one, and COVID-19 stigma, can cause emotional distress and may lead to new or worsening mental health issues. 
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, and racial and ethnic minority groups have been placed at higher risk for COVID-19 infection, COVID-19 severe illness or death, and pandemic-related stressors.
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