If each person is given one random tool and told to build a house, what might occur? Some people would be unable to construct a house altogether, those who could, would likely only produce only a husk of a house, something unfinished and likely a danger to themselves and others. Mental Health operates in much the same way. Ordering someone to “go to therapy” without acknowledging the nuance of mental health is dangerous and counterproductive.
Instead of just letting people wander the world with advice to “get help” what if there was someone taking the initiative to offer people the opportunity to connect with others who may have the tools they find to be useful for them? Fortunately, there is an organization of this nature in existence.
The Austin Area African American Behavioral Health Network (4ABHN) is an organization in Texas, working to destigmatize mental health in the Black community while bridging the gap between mental health care providers, individuals with disabilities, individuals who struggle with their mental health, religious leaders, and non-profit organizations ( Hogg Foundation for Mental
Health).
African Americans in the United States face a unique set of problems that cause trauma that therapists and psychologists haven’t been taught how to properly treat. 4ABHN is a website which functions as a networking tool, connecting African Americans coping with trauma to the mental health care workers capable of properly helping (Adams-Heard).
The connections that 4ABHN is fostering is laying the groundwork for greater encouragement and accessibility of and to mental health but it is just the beginning. 4ABHN is still young and has yet to delve deep into the promotion of Holistic Mental Health that is mentioned vaguely throughout the website. This organization should serve as something of a blueprint for organizations across the nation. 4ABHN is unique, but it shouldn’t always be. The impetus behind advocating for this group is so that someday, there is something like this for black people across the nation.
The Black community is in need of groups that advocate for well rounded approaches to mental health that choose to engage in honest discourse about what mental wellness should look like for Black people. A mental health network that understands how race factors into mental wellness and why that should make the process of healing and/or recovery dynamic, is much needed and well-deserved.
This website will provide the history, mission and vision statement of this organization, as well as key concepts that will help the reader to better understand what it is that this group does, publications that relate to the functionality of the group, other organizations that may be similar to this one, and events and volunteer opportunities that help the group to spread awareness and garner support for The Austin Area African American Behavioral Health Network.
Introduction
Phillip J. Roundtree
"This is a public service announcement that we're here and that we deserve to live and thrive,"
Phillip J Roundtree
This website advocates on behalf of an organization that wants to see us thrive. It is watering and cultivating its community in the hopes that it will someday blossom.
He is the Founder of Quadefy LLC, an organization dedicated to providing empowerment services to enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength of an individual, team, and/or business(“Black Mental Health Matters”). He is a staunch advocate of destigmatizing mental health, by promoting total wellness, amongst marginalized and often underrepresented communities. His transparency, as it relates to his personal journey in coping with depression and anxiety, gives a face, voice, and hope to those who’ve yet to recognize their emotional and cognitive strength (“Black Mental Health Matters”).
About Phillip J. Roundtree
To conclude his TedTalk (shown to the right) Roundtree cried out the quote included as he struggled to choke back tears. His passion rang out and his words served as a testament to the growing solidarity of mental health advocates.
In his TedTalk entitled, What is “Black Mental Health” and why does it matter, Roundtree shares his journey of trauma, resilience, and advocacy as he gives an impassioned talk discussing the impact of trauma on black identity, and black wellness, and why America’s current conversation on mental health is inadequate (“Black Mental Health Matters”).
