NORFOLK, Va. — July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and conversations around mental health are beginning to shift as more people speak openly about the issues they are facing.
Appointments for therapists and counselors are in high demand. It paints a grim picture of a growing mental health crisis.
"It shows up in a lot of different ways that we're not normally used to identifying as mental health, but it is," said Shawnice Hernandez, co-founder and executive director of Project ORF. The Norfolk nonprofit was formed in July 2023 to address mental health in Black communities.
Hernandez said it's important to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health as struggles among minority, youth, and underserved groups continue to raise concern.
"We provide young adults and teens preventative tools to help them combat trans-generational trauma," she said.
Project ORF also works to educate the community that mental health concerns can show up differently among these groups than others.
"A lot of us don't even recognize, in the community and outside of the community, the ways that we display our emotions are... it's a cry for help," Hernandez said. "We do want the help. We just don't always know how to ask for the help."
She said mental health concerns within marginalized communities can sometimes be disregarded due to a lack of understanding of their unique experiences and environments.
"When you put us all into a room, we [kind of] get, you know, put to the side or looked at in ways that we should not be looked at," Hernandez said. "But really, people should ask more questions to try to understand why we act the way that we act or why we respond the way that we respond to other individuals, to certain situations."
Project ORF is teaming up with the Norfolk Community Services Board to host a discussion called "Surviving Through Mental Health" on July 11.
"A lot of the people in the community that are here to help, they are struggling with connecting to this vulnerable population," Hernandez said. "So, this is a chance to put everybody in a room, to have professionals speak on this very sensitive topic, as well as to give community members a voice and a platform to also speak to what they feel like they need from people on the outside that are willing to help and do the work."
The event includes a panel discussion with experts, activists, and survivors, including Dr. Krystal Vaughn from Cornerstone Therapeutic Services, educator and mental health interventionist Kim Ambrose, CHKD Safter Futures Program coordinator Kamron Blue, Hampton University clinical psychologist Dr. Kristie Norwood, and Dr. Tonya Shell from Norfolk State University.
Norfolk Councilwoman Danica Royster, who helped spearhead the event, will deliver opening remarks.
"I have not only advocated about mental health, but I've also been very open with my own mental health journey," Royster said in a statement. "I created this event based on my passion for community to have access to mental health resources, to assist parents/guardians who need assistance in navigating this space to best support their children and provide a space for community to connect... This was not just inspired by a need for access and to dismantle the taboo of mental health in the Black community but to provide an opportunity to utilize my platform to encourage people, let them know its ok to not be okay and to not feel that their diagnosis determines their destiny."
Royster also stated that Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot will be at the event to talk about policing and mental health. There will be opportunities for people to get resources and information from dozens of health and wellness providers, including Sentara Health, the Norfolk Health Department, and Norfolk Human Services.
Hernandez said it's important for the community to be involved in conversations about mental health because the issues that stem from it don't exist in a vacuum.
"A lot of, like, the gun violence and community violence, it's centered around anger. And that's just unprocessed emotions," she said. "All the way down to homelessness, struggling to find jobs, even substance abuse. A lot of our teens and young adults, they have addictions that they don't know that they have. A lot of it is centered around social media."
Ultimately, the goal of the event is to provide people with useful strategies to cope with difficult feelings.
"This is a very specific and vulnerable population that needs some tending to," Hernandez said. "And so, I just hope that they leave with some knowledge and some information and the awareness."
"Surviving Through Mental Health" is Thursday, July 11 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Attucks Theatre, 1010 Church St. in Norfolk. There will also be door prizes, raffles, activities, music, food, and more.
It is free and open to the public. Registration is preferred but not required. Click here to sign up.