By Dr. LeNedra Wallace-Fierte, Clinical Director, Trilogy

Did you know that Black Chicagoans are twice as likely as White Chicagoans to report mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but only one-third of Black Chicagoans are receiving the mental health support they need?

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, a time set aside to bring awareness to the unique challenges faced by BIPOC communities regarding mental health and well-being, including the above statistic highlighted by the Chicago Urban League.*

There are many issues that intersect with BIPOC mental health, but key among these is the issue of access. Communities of color need more mental healthcare, and we need it right now. Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is not only an opportunity to highlight the gap that exists between the critical resources our community needs and the resources we currently have, but also to highlight solutions.

I’m proud to be a part of an organization that is helping to address this issue by increasing access to mental healthcare on Chicago’s South Side. Right now, Trilogy is in the process of opening a 24,000-square-foot mental health center in the Chatham community. Trilogy is committed to doing more than ever before to address unmet mental and behavioral healthcare needs through a variety of programs housed at our new mental wellness center at 8541 S. State Street. 

In the course of the last year, Trilogy has doubled down on its commitment to addressing the unmet need on the South Side by:

• Opening a drop-in center that is available to anyone in need of mental health support
  Accepting new clients and referrals for therapy.
• Winning funding to establish a new program that will provide peer-led substance use disorder/opioid use disorder intervention.
• Raising over $1.6 million – and counting – to fund renovations of the new Chatham center through the Breaking Down Walls for Mental Health campaign.

And next month, we begin the task of renovation itself. There is much work ahead, but in the years to come, Trilogy will provide mental health resources to thousands of children, teens adults and families living in communities that need them most. 

Learn more about what we’re doing at https://www.trilogyinc.org/breakingdownwalls/

*Source: “An Epidemic of Inequities: Structural Racism and COVID-19 in the Black Community, 2020.” Chicago Urban League.