This content mentions suicide or suicidal thoughts, discrimination or discriminatory violence (such as homophobia, racism, sexism and ableism), substance abuse and dependence (which may include mentions of alcohol or drug use ), trauma, depression and anxiety. Please read carefully. You will find information on where to find help at the bottom of this page.
A statement from Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation
Racism is using the concept of race to judge or treat certain people worse than others. It exists in many forms and at many levels in society, including health care. This can include acts of discrimination and prejudice against individuals and groups. It can also describe broader systems of oppression. Racism is a mental health problem because it causes trauma. And trauma can contribute to the development and worsening of poor mental health.
At the Mental Health Foundation, we seek to shed light on a series of questions that prevent good mental health – And racism is definitely at the top of that list. We have worked hard over the past two years to put anti-racist practice at the center of our work and we’ll share more on this front later this year.
For now, I wanted to create a space for some of the Foundation’s incredible staff and community partners with lived experience of the harmful impacts of interpersonal and structural racism. Below, they offer their perspectives and expertise and share the resources they draw on to better understand, cope with, and take action against the various forms of racist oppression they have encountered.
I am humbled by their resilience and commitment to working for the health and well-being of all those around them. I hope others reading this article will be moved to action in the same way we have been moved as an organization and staff community.
And finally, before giving the floor to the experts, a deep debt of gratitude to each of my colleagues listed below for your thoughtful leadership on a subject that is often painful to discuss. I hope that one day soon, the burden of these conversations will stop falling on your shoulders. I look forward to your continued partnership.
