Volunteer Opportunities
& Internships
The Austin Area African American Behavioral Health Network does not yet have programs established throughout the nation, but there are many volunteer opportunities in the DMV that offer mental health services as well as events that facilitate public discourse.
While 4ABHN in and of itself does not offer any internship or volunteer positions it lists some that are available in the Austin, Texas area. The Association of Psychology and Postdoctoral and Internships Centers is a membership organization that assists students who are seeking quality internship and postdoctoral training opportunities. Black Collegian Online is an online job directory for African American college students. Includes listings for mental health professionals. Texas Counseling Association is a membership organization that provides a wide range of educational and networking opportunities for individuals in the counseling profession (Internship Opportunities).
The Austin Area African American BehavIoral health network
AAKOMA
Currently, 4ABHN does not have any programs that impact the DC community. However, in the DMV area there are several organizations that do work similar to that of 4ABHN. AAKOMA (African American Knowledge Optimized for Mindfully Healthy Adolescents) addresses the depression and other mental health needs of African American and youth of color by developing and implementing rigorous, culturally relevant, patient centered, community-engaged research and clinical care (The AAKOMA Project, Inc). Like 4ABHN, the AAKOMA Project websites that the organization is undergoing some sort of transformation that is requiring it to put its events and activities on pause, but luckily, The Black Mental Health Alliance (BMHA) has many outreach programs that service the nearby Baltimore area in a similar capacity to 4ABHN.
BMHA has a volunteer program with an online application that is simple and doesn’t take long to fill out. They have three main categories for volunteer opportunities. An Events Volunteer assists with venue set-up and clean-up, works the registration table distributing the necessary material, and takes pictures and posts on social media during events. The Special Projects Volunteer serves as an BMHA social media influencer, calls businesses to ask for free prizes for BMHA event participants, and proofreads BMHA print and digital materials, and publications. The Fundraising Volunteer acquires sponsors for the Call To Healing Summit, hosts a party to recruit new members, and procures businesses to offer in-kind services. Some of the positions include Emotional Emancipation Circle™ Group Facilitator, General Organizational Support, and a Facilitator with the National Institute for Maximal Human Development (NIMHD). These volunteer opportunities allow the community to be apart of the very events designed to help them. There are internships available to students who may be majoring in behavioral health, public health or nonprofit management but also gender studies, management, marketing and communications. A set start and end date: most internships last between 2-6 months. These internships require at least 10 hours of work per week including occasional evening and/or weekend work, supervision from a BMHA staff member and may offer course credit depending on the university to which the intern attends (Black Mental Health Alliance).