Mental Health and the Black Community

Mental health

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is experiencing a shortage of mental health practitioners, and data from the county shows that 30 percent of the county’s population lives in neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage with less access to mental health resources. We would be delighted to partner with the Goldhirsh Foundation/ LA2050 to advance your mission to remove barriers to well-being, and serve those most impacted by inequity by creating a “Trauma-Informed Care for Black Leaders Course” to be disseminated to Black leaders, and expand our programming for the Pannell Center Mental Health Fair for Black families. With your partnership, this programming will empower, train and equip leaders who have exponential and catalytic effects throughout Los Angeles County. The program is led in partnership with Fuller’s School of Marriage and Family Therapy (SoPMFT) which was rated highest among Christian integrative clinical psychology programs by US News and World Report.

The “Trauma-Informed Care for Black Leaders Course” will instruct leaders in developing, analyzing and utilizing a trauma-informed framework that optimizes mental health care within Black communities. The course will cover topics of trauma/ inherited trauma, stress management, what to expect when entering counseling for the first time, the community resilience model (CRM), and it will be widely distributed to 100 Black church leaders, with the goal of reaching 10,000 individuals in LA County within the next year. Leaders will train and equip Black leaders to practice mental health strategies clinically proven to lead to successful outcomes in the domains of family, work, and community. The course will be created in our digital training platform, FULLER Equip, and will lead to long-term sustainability. Courses are designed by expert faculty and partners - the first 100 will be offered at no cost and others will be offered at a cost of $125 per course.
The Pannell Center Mental Health Fair for Black Families began in May 2023, and resulted in opportunities for emerging Black mental health professionals to network with established professionals, and interactive therapeutic activities. Embracing the spirituality of individuals, particularly in the Black community, is critical to engage in healing, and Fuller’s ecosystem which includes mental health resources that uniquely position us to exponentially and maximally impact mental health gains throughout LA County.

A grant from the Goldhirsh Foundation/ LA2050 will expand our mental health programming, and form high quality, mentally healthy leaders who will catalyze transformation throughout Los Angeles County. The event will be hosted at a central venue in LA, and will incorporate innovative activities such as art, drama and music therapy. We will incorporate a "Mental Health First Aid" training session to equip community members with the skills to support those facing crisis mental health challenges. Studies such as “On the promotion of human flourishing” by UCLA designated physical and mental health as one of the five domains of human flourishing. The study also showed that connection with religious communities leads to longevity and better quality of life. Fuller’s ecosystem includes Pannell Center, our unique psychology programs, and a campus in Pasadena which makes Fuller uniquely poised to maximally impact flourishing individuals, neighborhoods and communities for all Angelenos.

Pannell Center’s mental health initiatives will evaluate program outcomes with qualitative and quantitative data collected through community surveys and our database. With your partnership in the next year, we will distribute mental health resources to 100 Black leaders and 10,000 community members in Los Angeles County. By 2050, Pannell’s mental health initiatives will achieve these results in LA County: The “Trauma Informed Care for Black Leaders Course” will reach 250,000 individuals 2,500 Black faith leaders will be trained in trauma-informed care
Black leaders will access culturally competent training and a robust network of support comprised of community leaders, healthcare providers, and faith-based organizations
Course offerings will expand into mental health certificates tailored to Black communities resulting in higher engagement and treatment adherence
Mental health fairs will be conducted annually in central LA and serve a total of 3,000+ Black individuals by 2050