This week on MALN Opinion+, I had a conversation with Danna Mauch, Ph.D., President, and CEO of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH).
We spoke about how our lives are filled with experiences that can exacerbate mental illness, and how we can use data and research to help people experiencing symptoms of mental illness on a large scale.
Dr. Mauch started by telling us that MAMH “is concerned with advancing the mental health and well being of children & adults in the commonwealth and beyond” and that they are “trying hard in their work to address the social, emotional, and mental health challenges that many of us face.”
Dr. Mauch explained that we must focus on the systemic issues we all face if we want to alleviate the growing numbers of people experiencing mental illness in our communities. These are things like poverty, homelessness, and institutional violence like mass incarceration. These struggles are facets of life here in the U.S., which can be detrimental to our mental health and well-being.
As the American population continues to grow it will become even more important to find solutions to these inequalities. At the moment there are over 328.2 million people in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau of these people nearly 61 million are Latino, and with their numbers growing Latinos are expected to soon make up a quarter of the U.S. population.
Dr. Mauch shared that Latinos also tend to be heavily affected by these systemic stressors as data shows that they are often the poorest ethnic group. Along with this Latino families are the least likely to seek help when struggling with mental illness making it increasingly important to target their demographic and find Latinos, and everyone the help that they need.
To go deeper into our conversation on this important topic be sure to watch the full interview.
Resources mentioned in the video:
- https://www.mamh.org/justask
- A public awareness campaign aimed at empowering young adults to take charge of their mental health.
- https://massachusetts.networkofcare.org/mh/
- A free, online library and resource that includes a directory of over 5,000 programs and organizations across the Commonwealth, searchable by keyword and zip code.
- https://massachusetts.networkofcare.org/mh/content.aspx?cid=10611
- A tool to help Black, Latinx, and Asian Americans across the state get access to services that affirm their lived experiences and their social, cultural, and linguistic needs.
Cover Photo Credit: Advocate News Online
