APA Foundation Announces Winners of Advancing Minority MH Awards
Abstract
The Foundation recognizes the efforts of those who are helping underserved minority populations get access to mental health care.
The American Psychiatric Association Foundation announced the winners of its 2015 Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health at its annual benefit held in conjunction with APA’s 2015 annual meeting in Toronto.
Posing for a photo after the presentation of the Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health are (from left) Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., chair of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Board of Directors and APA CEO and medical director; Marie-Claude Rigaud, M.D., M.P.H., of Rebâti Santȳ Mentale; Paul Burke, executive director of the Foundation; XinQi Dong, M.D., M.P.H., of Rush University Medical Center; and James Nininger, M.D., a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
These awards, created in 2003, recognize psychiatrists, other health professionals, mental health programs, and other organizations that have undertaken innovative and supportive efforts to raise awareness of mental illness in underserved minority communities, the need for early recognition, the availability of treatment and how to access it, and the cultural barriers to treatment; increase access to quality mental health services for underserved minorities; and improve the quality of care for underserved minorities, particularly those in the public health system or with severe mental illness.
Here are brief descriptions of this year’s winners:
XinQi Dong, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of geriatric medicine, behavioral sciences, and nursing at Rush University Medical Center, has focused his career on social justice and mental health issues within the aging Chinese population in the Chicago area. Among other mental health outreach and research, Dong has hosted countless workshops and lectures in these Chinese communities to break down barriers and myths associated with mental illness and family violence.
Rebâti Santȳ Mentale is an organization dedicated to establishing an effective mental health capacity in Haiti. In rural areas outside of Port-au-Prince, mental health services are severely limited. Thus, Rebâti Santȳ Mentale is establishing collaborative partnerships to create sustainable mental health programs in Haiti. The organization also runs a mental health training program to teach health professionals, teachers, religious leaders, and other community members to recognize the symptoms of psychological distress and raise community awareness about mental health issues.
We Hear You—Te Eschuchamos is a mental health awareness campaign of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Center for Latino Mental Health. It is designed for young Latinos/as to reduce the stigma related to mental health issues and increase the likelihood of mental health service use in this population. In addition to community workshops, the campaign includes a bilingual website, social media, workshops, and monthly participation in a local radio broadcast. ■
More information about the Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health can be accessed here.
