Unprecedented Initiative UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE Centers Mental Health at HBCUs and other Black colleges
|
Posted By: S. Moore on February 14, 2023 ATLANTA, GA, Feb. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today UNCF (United Negro College Fund), The Steve Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) launched an unprecedented national effort, Unapologetically Free: Centering Mental Health on Black College Campuses. Unapologetically Free includes a customized set of culturally responsive programs and opportunities to support mental health on Black college campuses, including:
Programming for the workshops and student conference is led by the Steve Fund, a premier nonprofit promoting mental health and emotional well-being for young people of color. "HBCUs have always been shelters in the storm for Black students, especially in uncertain times," said UNCF President and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax. "This initiative offers our entire Black higher education community an opportunity to learn from participating Black colleges while enhancing the practices that make our students free to focus on their well-being." Unapologetically Free is designed to respond to a rise in mental health challenges among college students across the country. In 2021, more than 60 percent of college students met the criteria for one or more mental health problems, a jump of nearly 50% since 2013. A survey conducted by UNCF and the Steve Fund last year reported that an overwhelming majority of students, faculty and staff at HBCUs want to be informed about resources to support mental health on their campuses. President and CEO of Thurgood Marshall College Fund Dr. Harry L. Williams announced that his organization would support outreach on the effort and said that he hopes the impact of Unapologetically Free will be felt at the nation's Black colleges and universities and beyond. "By engaging our partner institutions, our intent is to help evolve mental health approaches at HBCUs while helping them lead a national conversation on the mental health needs of Black students in higher education," Dr. Williams said. "HBCUs have always worked to meet students where they are, and higher education would be well served to learn from their example." Evan Rose, president of the board at the Steve Fund, said the initiative has been designed intentionally to amplify the voices, perspectives and experiences of students on Black college campuses, and to build on the community support that already exists on Black college campuses as they respond to stigma, societal barriers and lack of equitable access to resources and care. "The Steve Fund's mental health experts will highlight the ways to further focus on the mental health and emotional well-being of HBCU students," Rose said. "We are following the lead of Black college student leaders, faculty and administrators who have stewarded safe, racially affirming higher education spaces for decades." UNCF's leadership on this initiative is spearheaded by its Institute for Capacity Building's Strategy Development team, which is directed by Julian Thompson. Since the start of the pandemic UNCF has coordinated activities to support student engagement, well-being and sense of belonging, including a national coaching campaign for entering, first-year and stop-out students. "We seek to activate leaders on Black college campuses, uncover insights and promising practices, and develop innovative strategies that will help further their institutional transformation," Thompson said. "Through Unapologetically Free, our partners and UNCF can make an even greater impact on student, faculty and staff mental health at HBCUs and beyond." This week, Unapologetically Free will begin to administer a customized Black college module of the Health Minds Study, the longest-standing, most comprehensive research survey on mental health in higher education. Dr. Jaffus Hardrick, president of Florida Memorial University, one of the first HBCUs to promote the study, said HBCUs are coming together as a community to respond to student needs. "We know our students, many of whom are the first from their families to pursue higher education, confront challenges that can feel overwhelming at times," Dr. Hardrick said. "Unapologetically Free couldn't be more timely in offering all HBCUs an opportunity to expand on the tools and practices that make our communities resilient." More information on upcoming workshops, conferences and research efforts can be found at unapologetically-free.org. SOURCE UNCF https://uncf.org/news/unprecedented-initia... If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest News
Popular News
 |
North Carolina HBCU Unity DayShaw University - Elizabeth City State University - Johnson C. Smith University - Fayetteville State University - Livingstone College - North Carolina A&T State University - North Carolina Central Uni ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 104,285 Views • August 8th, 2016 |
