Sound the Alarm for Kids and the Congressional Black Caucus held the first in a series of roundtable discussions about the youth mental health crisis following the national emergency declaration by AAP, AACAP, and CHA last fall.

The virtual roundtable, “A National Emergency in Youth Mental Health: Strengthening Supports and Access to Care for Black Kids and Teens,” highlighted what steps can be taken to improve trends and ensure Black children and their families have access to culturally competent and developmentally appropriate prevention and treatment services.

Black Mental Health Resources:

• Directory of Organizations with Resources Specific to the Black Community
• Focusing On Children’s Mental Health One-Pager
• Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America | A Report to Congress from The Congressional Black Caucus Emergency TaskForce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health

Speakers:

• Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07)
• Sean Joe, Ph.D., M.S.W., Benjamin E. Youngdahl, Professor of Social Development and Founding Director, Race and Opportunity Lab
• Kelley Haynes-Mendez, Psy.D., Director of the Ethnicity, Race, and Cultural Affairs and Acting Director of the Human Rights Team, American Psychological Association
• Abdul Henderson, Executive Director, Mental Health America of Georgia
• Lee Johnson III, Ph.D., Senior Policy Analyst, ZERO TO THREE
• Brianna A. Baker, Ph.D. Candidate at Columbia University, RWJF Health Policy Research Scholar, and co-founder of Black In Mental Health
• Paul A. King, M.H.A., Chair of the Board of Trustees, Children’s Hospital Association (Moderator)