09/24/2014
Black Folks and Mental Health: Why Do We Suffer in Silence?
San Diego, California—September 24, 2014
Local Community Solution: On Saturday, September 27, 2014, a momentous community forum will occur in Southeast San Diego. Christ Church of San Diego will host a community from “Black Folks and Mental Health: Why Do We Suffer in Silence?
"With the exception of African-American celebrities or public figures who experience mental trauma, such as Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., or commit su***de as in the death of hip-hop legend Chris Lighty, mental health remains largely absent from the public discourse in the Black community,” states Rev. Ikenna Anyanwu Kokayi, Visionary and Chair of Black Folks and Mental Health: Why Do We Suffer in Silence? Quality of life is important to us all, but may be more difficult to attain for those with mental health issues. Overall quality of life is affected by psychological state, physical health, levels of independence, social relationships, personal values and beliefs and the relationship of all of these to the person’s environment.
“Mental health is the issue we do not talk about, because of the stigma,” said Stephanie Edwards-Norfleet, MPA, CAMF, Doctorial Candidate “We often ignore it politically and even personally sometimes. This attitude needs to change. Mental health is critical for our family members, the welfare of our soldier’s economy and the future of our community.”
This informative FREE community forum will be held at Christ Church of San Diego located at 1355 Fern Street, San Diego, CA 92102 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Registration and light refreshments at 9:00 a.m. followed by an esteem of community mental health professionals providing information addressing the topic. Presentations include Stephanie Edwards-Norfleet, MPA, CAMF Doctorial Candidate, “Reducing the Stigma of Mental Disabilities in the African, African-American Community”; Voneva Denham, “Suicide Prevention and Mental Illness”; Chaplain Fred Johnson, M. Div., “Grief and Mental Illness”; Abiola Qgundeji, MFT, “The Effects of Trauma in Adulthood”; Aisha Pope, LCSW, “The Effect of Trauma on Children”; Adia Nembhard, MFT, “The Effects of Community Violence”.
Be inspired by passionate speakers. Be informed about the relevance of mental health in our community.
