Creating Supportive Systems to Improve Mental Health Outcomes for Young African American Boys: An Urgent Conversation
Tuesday September 20, 2018 | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST
Description of the Roundtable:
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in collaboration with the HHS/Office of Minority Health, is hosting a NNED Virtual Roundtable, Creating Supportive Systems to Improve Mental Health Outcomes for Young African American Boys: An Urgent Conversation, to increase awareness about the mental health needs and vulnerabilities of African American boys and about culturally appropriate mental health promotion and early intervention strategies. The event will feature emerging data on the age-related disparities in mental health outcomes for African American boys and related policy and practice implications.
While childhood suicide is rare, a recent analysis concluded that “among children aged 5 to 12 years, black children had a significantly higher incidence of suicide than white children” (Bridge, et al., 2018). As part of a call for action, the Virtual Roundtable will feature national experts discussing cross-system approaches for developing workforce and community service capacity to address the negative mental health trend for African American boys. Panelists will also share ways emerging data is influencing work in early childhood settings, family and community systems, policy, and research.
Participants will learn about strategies for mental health promotion and early intervention that can be replicated in their respective communities.
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Meet the Panelists:
Dr. Rosemarie Allen
Rosemarie Allen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She focuses on ensuring teachers are aware of how issues of equity, bias, privilege, and power impact teaching practices. She is also the founder and CEO of the Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence, serving as the lead agency for ensuring equity in educational practices. Her life’s work is focused on reducing suspension and expulsion of children of color from early childhood programs.
Dr. Jeffrey Bridge
Jeffrey Bridge, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. His research focuses on the epidemiology of suicidal behavior in young people, neurocognitive vulnerability to suicidal behavior, screening for suicide risk in medical settings, and on improving the quality of care for suicidal youth.
Dr. Gail Mattox
Gail Mattox, M.D., serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine. A Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, she has board certification in psychiatry and sub-specialty board certification in child and adolescent psychiatry. She was instrumental in obtaining grant funding from SAMHSA to establish the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Center for Excellence in Behavioral Health.
Elijah Wheeler
Elijah Wheeler serves as both the Acting Director and Social Justice Director of the Montgomery County (MD.) Collaboration Council. The Collaboration Council is charged with identifying issue areas in the County on behalf of children, youth and families and then working with government and other partners to target resources and supports to the community to redress disparities.
Reta Stanley
Reta Stanley is President/CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flint and Genesee County. Stanley has served several decades working to place youth in structured, safe, and empowering mentoring relationships with community role models. Focusing on the needs of vulnerable youth, under her leadership the agency signed on with the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative working to improve literacy and open college and career pathways.
Dr. Derrick Gordon
Derrick Gordon, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology Section) at Yale University School of Medicine, is the Director of the Program on Male Development in the Division of Prevention and Community Research of the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Gordon has considerable experience in intervention and prevention development having served as an investigator on federal, NIH, and state funded projects and studies.
Facilitator:
Brandon Johnson
Brandon J. Johnson, M.H.S. serves as a Public Health Advisor in the Suicide Prevention Branch at SAMHSA. In this role, Brandon serves as a Government Project Officer for the Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention grant program, the Zero Suicide grant program, and the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) Adult Suicide Prevention grant program where he is also the Program Manager. Brandon is also the GPO for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) that provides suicide specific materials, webinars, and training to organizations and communities all over the country working to reduce suicides. Brandon is also the Co-Lead of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Faith Communities Task Force.
Questions? email the National Facilitation Center