Our Approach
Our Theory of Change
01.
Heal Yourself
We can't pour from an empty cup. We can't operate in a state of surivial our whole lives. We deserve to feel whole.
02.
Heal Your Family
We can't break free from generational curses unless we can discuss, identify, and address them.
03.
Heal Your Community
Heal your community by healing in the community. Get active in improving the conditions of your community today!
04.
Address Public Health and Health Policy
Learn how racist public health policy have produced the violent conditions in our lives and how we can play a role to improve the health & well-being of our communities by addressing those policies.
05.
Create an Ecosystem of Healing
Work with us to create an ecosystem of healing that doesn't criminalize or dehumanize our people.
BMHA Nashville’s Current Framework for Improving Mental Health in the Black Community
•Provide mental health education rooted in social justice and increase help-seeking behavior as a form of resistance
•Identify and address social determinants of health (SODH) disparities and other systems of oppression that create and exacerbate mental illness
•Provide mental health care and case management services
•Deliver coordinated crisis management to provide traditional, innovative, and culturally-responsive care
•Promote social connectedness, resilience, and joy
•Foster empowered individuals, families, and communities
•Creating a system of harm reduction that reduces funding for the current mental health system by creating alternatives to carceral-based mental health care (an abolitionist system that reduces our dependency on the PIC (Prison/psychiatry - industrial complex ).
Strategic Priorities
Eliminate Stigma
Black empowerment & self-determination through mental health education, training, and advocacy
Create and sustain a pipeline of Black mental healthcare professionals and community healers
Provide holistic healing to marginalized communities
Data infrastructure and sovereignty
Harm reduction and resiliency building through community care
Supporting the health and well-being of Black people and other marginalized communities
Services
Mental Health Consulting - We educate and empower our community to become better stewards of their own mental health.
Community Care - Providing and highlighting community care events for our people and other vulnerable groups.
Coordination of Mental Health - Helping our people navigate the mental health system.
Coordinating Resources to Improve Social Determinants of Health - Addressing our people's material needs.
Programs
Healing Workshops
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Abolition in Mental Health
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Healing for Healers and Community Organizers
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Dream Incubation in a Capitalistic Wasteland
Education
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Community Mental Health Discussions
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Racism in Medicine
Support Groups - Here at BMHA Nashville, we create communities where people can find the support they need through the power of connection. When people are facing challenges, it’s helpful for them to be able to find support from others who understand exactly what they’re going through, and that’s what they’ll find from our mental health support groups!
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The Àṣẹ Community – Community Healing After Incarceration
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Online Black Community Support Group
Training (coming soon)