BIPOC Mental Health -Barriers and Solutions

A discussion regarding strategies for opportunistic youth.

Throughout history and in our present day, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) have been denied the support and care that they rightfully deserve. Due to systemic barriers that are deeply engrained in our American society, mental health services have lacked a culturally responsive and trauma informed lens that would better support our BIPOC communities.

Join Allissa Torres, MSW and Director of Mental Health Equity at Mental Health America, for this presentation where we will:

-Discuss culturally responsive practices to better support BIPOC individuals

-Address key cultural factors and historical context that play a role in BIPOC mental health

-Highlight strengths in BIPOC communities

Speaker Bio:

Allissa Torres (she/her) is the Director of Mental Health Equity at Mental Health America (MHA). Her role ensures that MHA centers equity in every part of its work. Allissa spearheads projects such as the BIPOC Mental Health Month campaign in July and advises on many other campaigns throughout the year.

Allissa has over 10 years of experience working with mental health nonprofits on local, regional, and national levels. Allissa holds two degrees, a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Arizona State University. She is passionate about all things equity and especially is interested in the intersection of social justice and mental health. She is a firm believer in community-centered care, grassroots advocacy, and liberation-based practice. Allissa’s lived experience as a Latina woman with mental health diagnoses drives much of her passion in this field.