Healing Together: Faith Community Role or Responsibility in Mental Wellness

701 East Delavan Avenue,Buffalo NY 14215

18 May, 2023

Description

The aftermath of the Tops Massacre on May 14, 2022 and persistent systemic racism has been devastating for East Buffalo communities and now is the time to take bold and intentional action. This tragic incident provides an unprecedented opportunity to address mental health and trauma differently, with freshly informed equity lenses at all levels. This free intentional learning and community engagement opportunity is specifically for faith-based and grassroots leaders and community members, behavioral health providers, volunteers, and caregivers. Our goals and community learning objectives include: • Provide a cross system community educational opportunity to offer long-term strategies for addressing trauma and mental health in communities of color and highlight the diversity of needs related to “healing” • Improve awareness and understanding of needs related to mental health and trauma in the communities of color • Advance opportunities to address the intersection of Social Determinants of Health and Behavioral Health Care through the lens of Equity • To elevate community voices across systems with intentional and targeted goals of promoting neighborhood outreach models that include natural healers • To provide a forum to build collaborative partnerships that elevate the voices of patients, parents, caregivers, faith leaders and grassroots neighborhood centers to inform and improve policies and practices through system change and collective impact activities. This workshop specifically for faith-based community leaders and members, grassroots leaders, behavioral health providers, and volunteers and caregivers that will provide resources and support in addressing mental wellness, and trauma in communities of color.