NAVIGATION: Indigenous Communities Facing COVID-19 | Mental and Physical Health of Hispanic Communities | Physical Health Disparities amongst Black Communities | Mental and Emotional Health amongst Black Communities | Racism and its Impact on the Mental Health of Asian Americans
Mental and Emotional Health Amongst Black Communities
by Gracy Go
As the Black Lives Matter movement has reemerged in the mainstream, further examination into the overall treatment available for Black communities, specifically related to COVID-19, is crucial in understanding the current pandemic. The flaws in the healthcare system have resulted in limited resources for Black communities when it comes to their mental wellbeing. Given the broken relationship that exists with marginalized communities and the availability for culturally sensitive treatment, raising these issues especially in the context of COVID-19 encompasses a significant aspect that we should all acknowledge.
COVID-19 and Structural and Systemic Racism
Structural racism has been at the centre of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though structural racism has always existed in many systems, the pandemic has only shown that those who are marginalized and financially vulnerable do not have adequate access to medical services, especially amongst Black and Latinx communities.[1] This includes the lack of COVID-19 testing, appropriate housing for quarantine and social distancing measures, and access to equipped hospitals.[2] Throughout the pandemic thus far, racism and oppression has only grown as time goes on, and racial trauma has greatly impacted the mental health within Black communities.
When it comes to treatment for mental health, cultural identity is imperative in the treatment of minority groups.[3] Racial trauma and how BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) deal with this trauma is often manifested in possessing a cultural identity.[4]
[1] Sabrina R. Liu and Sheila Modir, “The Outbreak That Was Always Here: Racial Trauma in the Context of COVID-19 and Implications for Mental Health Survivors,” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 12 no. 5 (2020): 439, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000784.
[2] Liu and Modir, “The Outbreak That Was Always Here,” 440.
[3] Liu and Modir, “The Outbreak That Was Always Here,” 440.
[4] Liu and Modir, “The Outbreak That Was Always Here,” 440.
Cultural Identity: “A positive sense of one’s self as existing within and belonging to a certain culture, particularly one that has collectively experienced and overcome past adversities”[1]
[1] Liu and Modir, “The Outbreak That Was Always Here,” 440.
Black Communities and Mental Health
Black communities specifically have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the context of mental health, this has increased the difficulty a Black person may have in finding mental health services. The pandemic has caused a significant amount of stress on Black communities in fear of contracting COVID-19.[1] In the United States, African Americans are twice more likely than White Americans to know someone who has been impacted by the disease, whether they were hospitalized due to COVID-19 or died from the virus. However, this fear is not the only issue that Black communities are facing – because of the likelihood a Black person may know someone they are close to dies from COVID-19, they will go through grief from the deaths and this alone is very emotionally taxing.[2] We must emphasize the need for adequate mental health services for Black communities who will have to grieve loved ones and deal with difficulties in their emotional welfare.
[1] Rodlescia S. Sneed, Kent Key, Sarah Bailey, and Vicki Johnson-Lawrence, “Social and Psychological Consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic in African-American Communities: Lessons From Michigan,” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 12 no. 5 (2020): 446, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000881.
[2] Sneed, Key, Bailey, and Johnson-Lawrence, “Social and Psychological Consequences,” 446.
Defund Police: Fund the Community
"DEFUND THE POLICE": What does "defund the police" really mean?
How can we help communities that carry racial trauma and the fears associated with COVID-19? “Defund the Police” has been a cry for help from BIPOC and their allies. The assumption people initially have about this saying is the idea that we take the police budgets away entirely. This is not the case. The Black Lives Matter movement is fighting for community initiatives to help BIPOC find support. In the U.S. in particular, this can look like funding more into housing and education. In Canada, specifically in Toronto, nearly ¼ of property taxes go to funding police departments. A sociology professor from the University of Toronto, Akwasi Owusu-Bempah has explained that “defund the police” is not equal to “abolish the police.” Owusu-Bempah stated to CTV News that:
"[It's] a reallocation or a reassignment of certain tasks and functions that we recognize that the police aren't performing very well, that there are negative outcomes to their involvement in those activities such as increased risk for the use of violence and potential for criminalization ..."
Mental health especially has led to the need to defund police departments in Toronto. Police budgets can be shifted over to emergency services when mental health crises arise. But the police responding to mental health calls is not the appropriate measure to take when dealing with those in distressing situations – even police officers admit that they are ill-equipped when it comes to these types of calls. Regis Korchinski-Paquet is a victim of police negligence. After responding to a mental wellness check, Korchinski-Paquet ended up dead after falling from a 24th-floor balcony of her apartment building. Regis’s mother simply wanted the police to take Regis to CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), but the fall occurred when the police arrived at the apartment.
Her family continues to question if the officers had anything to do with her death.
Community and Change
Defund Police: Invest in Community!
Black Lives Matter Canada has a list of demands for defunding the police on their website.
Defund the Police.
Demilitarize the Police.
Disarm the Police.
Dismantle the Police.
BLM Canada calls for the disarming of police, housing for women experiencing gender-based violence, and support for survivors and victims of sexual abuse/assault including an emergency service they can turn to for safety. Instead of policing, more work should be done in funding transit and food security. BLM Canada is fighting for the safety of the people – specifically, a society where BIPOC are safe.
“We can and should have an emergency service that people can call if they are experiencing mental distress.”
- Black Lives Matter Canada
According to defundthepolice.org, police often use lethal force when responding to a mental health call. If BIPOC experiencing mental health crises and distress are killed in the process to keep themselves and others safe, we need to rethink how we deal with those who need help the most. Unfortunately, it is the police that are the most easily accessible and a quick call away to get anyone to do a welfare check, and this is especially the case in communities of a lower socioeconomic status – leaving many with no other option.
“Defunding” the police means a reinvestment of funding, and activist groups such as BLM, and groups that want to see a reform in the justice system, want more funding to go into areas to provide care to those in psychiatric distress. We need to find trained individuals who can support minorities with mental illnesses and choose to de-escalate situations, instead of having police officers use unnecessary force. We need to avoid another death of someone that could have been saved if the proper measures were available to help them.