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CLASP’s mental health work centers on systems and policy change with an explicit focus on how race and ethnicity affect a person’s interactions with systems and services. We are working to re-imagine how our national, state, and local mental and behavioral health systems could better serve people living in households with low incomes. Check out our new resources and upcoming events that offer insight into key issues, strategies, and principles surrounding mental health.
Food insecurity disproportionately affects people who experience poverty. Not having the option to buy food, let alone nutritious food, can have adverse effects on one’s physical and mental well-being. Check out Jace Peterkin and Isha Weerasinghe’s fact sheet, “The Connection Between Food Insecurity and Mental Health.” They outline key considerations for policymakers to ensure that the links between food insecurity and mental health are not ignored.
Many young people of color experience racism and discrimination—implicit and explicit, individual and institutional—from a very young age. These experiences continue into young adulthood and beyond. Check out Isha Weerasinghe's new blog, "Are We Listening? Youth Mental Health Challenges are Rooted in Racism and Discrimination" to learn about how repeated instances of discrimination and the lack of accountability for racist actions can increase stress, leading to depression and anxiety.
Upcoming Events
In early March, we are hosting our third webinar in the Decolonizing Mental Health series. Our first session was on how the transformative and healing justice movements inform how we approach mental health, and the second session was around questioning the role of the medical industrial complex. For this third session, partners practicing healing-centered therapies will share how they are sustaining their work and also impart what it really means to provide mental health supports in a decolonized way. Stay tuned for more details!
CLASP is working with the Office of Substance Use and Mental Health with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Utah Chapter, and the Youth Of Utah Advocacy Coalition to host the 2nd annual Transition Age Youth (TAY) Policy Summit on April 30 and May 1, 2024. The Policy Summit is looking for TAY panelists (16-25 years old) to speak at the summit; those interested can find more information and apply here. They are also looking for applicants to present policies related to TAY for the youth panelists to review at the summit. If you are interested in helping fund this event, please donate here.
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