| Partnered with Pleasant City Youth Empowerment Center to facilitate Mental Health |
| Meetings (Casual Conversation) for underserved communities ages 12-19. |
| We meet once a week to discuss Mental Health (June 2021 – present). |
| It is evident that there is an extreme need for Mental Health Services in underserved communities, Trinity Counseling Centers (TCC) decided to make a change and empower our underserved communities by supporting Mental Health in Palm Beach County Afterschool Programs through Casual Conversations with TCC. The youth are out PRESENT! TCC meets with the youth once a week ages 9-20 to discuss and unwind. Our Casual Conversations with TCC are ALWAYS staffed with a Primary Therapist. We look to achieve healthy Behavioral Health behaviors, as well as enhance life skills. |
| Why is Casual Conversation with TCC so important? In the past year, we have witnessed an uprising in response to the murders of Black women, men, and children and the disproportionate illnesses and deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic in People of Color. As a result, we have seen an increase in substance use disorders and, particularly, suicide in our youth. Mental health has long been mischaracterized in our community as a sign of personal weakness and a lack of faith in God’s will. |
| According to Dr. Dionne Hart, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black people and Latinos saw the largest spike in overdose deaths. For Black people, the increase was 50.3%. A majority of Black and Hispanic adults with mental health problems do not have access to treatment. Almost 90% of Black and Hispanic adults who have substance use disorders do not have effective care. Currently, only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receive it.” |
| According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the suicide rate among African Americans ages 10-14 has increased 233 percent. In 2019, suicide was the second-leading cause of death for African Americans ages 15-24. |
| TCC is happy and overjoyed to empower and support our underserved communities by promoting good self-care and Behavioral/Mental Health! |