Mental Health Inequities Post-Pandemic: Building A Cultural Ecosystem of Well-Being
"Not the world, not what’s outside of us, but what we hold inside traps us. We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world.” — Dr. Gabor Maté
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Day 1
Minneapolis Institute of Art 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404 Friday, July 14, 2023 9 AM - 4 PM |
Day 2
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation Auditorium 451 Lexington Parkway North, St. Paul, MN 55104 Saturday, July 15, 2023 10 AM - 4 PM |
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Welcome!
Ladies, Gentlemen, Fellow Professional Bodies and Agencies:
The 9th African Mental Health Summit is here! It is with great privilege that we welcome you to our 2023 9th African Mental Health Summit hosted by Progressive Individual Resources, Inc., and Restoration for All Inc. We hope that through the platform of this Summit, we can all strive to continue our services and research in the field of Mental Health of people of African Descent.
The Summit theme this year is "Mental Health Inequities Post Pandemic: Building A Cultural Ecosystem of Well-Being". This theme is important and very relevant at this extraordinary time of post pandemic which to a large extent claimed millions of lives, impacted mental health and well-being, and thrown into disarray the world as we knew it to be normal. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inequities and injustices in mental health outcomes that persisted over the years uncovers the deeply entrenched racial inequalities which has been severe among people of African Descent. It is imperative to set the mental health care programs and services on a better course with the need to develop trauma-informed mental health responses while reflecting on the killings in our communities.
The first day of 9th African Mental Health Summit will be held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404 on July 14, 2023 and the second day, at the Wilder Foundation 451 Lexington Pkwy N, St Paul, MN 55104 on July 15, 2023. Our Summit presenters will feature important presentations with a focus on understanding the cultural ecosystem services that are available, affordable and accessible to people of African Descent. Our inner parts are only one facet of mental health. It also involves our relationships, environment, belonging, and the society at large. In other words, mental health is prevalent everywhere.
We believe this Summit will enrich an important public debate on the necessity of cultural ecosystem services (CES) which include tourism, recreational services, aesthetic enjoyment, and spiritual experience and the need to dig deeper in order to come up with skills needed to cope with pandemic trauma.
We want to congratulate the 2023 AMHS Awardees who have demonstrated the values of generosity, excellence, inclusion, mentoring, and integrity as well as visionary leadership through their passion and dedication to the delivery of mental health services to people of African Descent.
We thank our annual sponsors: Minnesota State Department of Human Services, Mental Health and Substance Use Division, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health, Ramsey County Children Mental Health Collaborative, NAMI Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, Health Partners, Allina Health, New Concept Counseling, St. Catherine University, Blue Cross Blue Shield MN, Minnesota Alliance on Gambling, Wellness in the Woods, Mains'l Services Brooklyn Park, University of St. Thomas School of Social Work, St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development, Minnetonka, Prairie Care Medical Group, Fairview Hospital, Metro Services, United Healthcare & Optum, and Minnesota State Department of Health. Without their sustained and generous financial support, we would not have been able to offer full scholarships and meet the cost of other things needed for the success of the Summit.
Finally, we wish all of you an informative exchange of ideas as we come together to reinterpret and a Summit opportunity that stimulates an appetite for more in 2024.
The 9th African Mental Health Summit is here! It is with great privilege that we welcome you to our 2023 9th African Mental Health Summit hosted by Progressive Individual Resources, Inc., and Restoration for All Inc. We hope that through the platform of this Summit, we can all strive to continue our services and research in the field of Mental Health of people of African Descent.
The Summit theme this year is "Mental Health Inequities Post Pandemic: Building A Cultural Ecosystem of Well-Being". This theme is important and very relevant at this extraordinary time of post pandemic which to a large extent claimed millions of lives, impacted mental health and well-being, and thrown into disarray the world as we knew it to be normal. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inequities and injustices in mental health outcomes that persisted over the years uncovers the deeply entrenched racial inequalities which has been severe among people of African Descent. It is imperative to set the mental health care programs and services on a better course with the need to develop trauma-informed mental health responses while reflecting on the killings in our communities.
The first day of 9th African Mental Health Summit will be held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404 on July 14, 2023 and the second day, at the Wilder Foundation 451 Lexington Pkwy N, St Paul, MN 55104 on July 15, 2023. Our Summit presenters will feature important presentations with a focus on understanding the cultural ecosystem services that are available, affordable and accessible to people of African Descent. Our inner parts are only one facet of mental health. It also involves our relationships, environment, belonging, and the society at large. In other words, mental health is prevalent everywhere.
We believe this Summit will enrich an important public debate on the necessity of cultural ecosystem services (CES) which include tourism, recreational services, aesthetic enjoyment, and spiritual experience and the need to dig deeper in order to come up with skills needed to cope with pandemic trauma.
We want to congratulate the 2023 AMHS Awardees who have demonstrated the values of generosity, excellence, inclusion, mentoring, and integrity as well as visionary leadership through their passion and dedication to the delivery of mental health services to people of African Descent.
We thank our annual sponsors: Minnesota State Department of Human Services, Mental Health and Substance Use Division, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health, Ramsey County Children Mental Health Collaborative, NAMI Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, Health Partners, Allina Health, New Concept Counseling, St. Catherine University, Blue Cross Blue Shield MN, Minnesota Alliance on Gambling, Wellness in the Woods, Mains'l Services Brooklyn Park, University of St. Thomas School of Social Work, St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development, Minnetonka, Prairie Care Medical Group, Fairview Hospital, Metro Services, United Healthcare & Optum, and Minnesota State Department of Health. Without their sustained and generous financial support, we would not have been able to offer full scholarships and meet the cost of other things needed for the success of the Summit.
Finally, we wish all of you an informative exchange of ideas as we come together to reinterpret and a Summit opportunity that stimulates an appetite for more in 2024.
See you all at the Summit!
Dr. Tolulope Monisola Ola (MPH)
Founder & Executive Director, Restoration for All (REFA) Inc. |
Richard Oni, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Progressive Individual Resources Inc. |