BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month

A Message From Our Executive Director, Angela Martindale for BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month

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July is BIPOC/Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. As Executive Director of the Friends of the CJCSLC we are hyper aware of all child victims of crime and their parents/caregivers we currently serve, and those we have served over the past 30 years in Salt Lake County.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 40-50% of people will experience adversity during childhood, which can increase the risk for emotional challenges when they grow up. 71% of children abused and served by the CJCSLC are girls. Single mothers of all races who were abused as a child are included among underserved minority populations. We know that the road to thriving can be a long one after trauma and for minority populations and those in economic disparity, recovery can be that much more difficult due to decreased access to resources and healthcare services like therapy.

Often, motherhood can trigger repressed and unaddressed outcomes of childhood abuse causing an increased risk of becoming an abuser if the trauma is left underserved. It is our mission at the Friends non-profit to find better ways to address the needs of mental health access programs for all children, especially underserved minority populations who are recovering from abuse.