Community Town Hall: Strengthening Mental Health and Behavioral Health Access
The Alianza Coalition and Mecklenburg County are teaming up to promote Latino programming in our community, with support and insight from our parents and youth.
On November 23, 2024, Alianza hosted a town hall focused on addressing challenges and opportunities surrounding behavioral health services for the Latino community. Participants shared their experiences, insights, and solutions, aiming to build stronger support systems and improve access to care.
Mecklenburg County Behavioral Health Strategic Plan: Key Updates
The Mecklenburg County Behavioral Health Strategic Plan was recently updated to reflect community input, particularly around issues related to mental health and substance use prevention. These updates include:
Expanded Prevention Programs: Addressing mental health and substance use prevention, incorporating culturally tailored strategies to engage youth and promote healthy behaviors.
Bilingual and Bicultural Providers: To address the shortage of bilingual mental health professionals, the plan introduces a workforce pipeline aimed at recruiting, training, and maintaining bilingual providers.
Culturally Inclusive Services: To ensure behavioral health services are responsive to the diverse cultural needs of Mecklenburg County residents.
These changes can be seen on page 31 of the Behavioral Strategic Plan: Click below for the full plan.
In-Depth Group Discussions at the Townhall
Click the questions below to learn more about what was discussed!
-
• Fear and Mistrust: Immigration status and language barriers often prevent Latinos from seeking help, fearing judgment or repercussions.
• Lack of Awareness: Many community members are unaware of available programs, such as crisis hotlines or county resources.
• High Costs: Limited insurance coverage and affordability issues restrict access to mental health services and specialists.
• Cultural Stigmas: Mental health is often deprioritized, with families focusing on immediate needs like housing and work, neglecting emotional and psychological well-being.
-
• Service Providers: Some providers focus narrowly on presenting symptoms (e.g., headaches) without considering underlying causes like stress or trauma. Participants emphasized the need for holistic approaches.
• Faith and Community Resources: Churches, pastors, and community leaders often fill gaps in services, though participants noted the importance of integrating spiritual and medical support.
Funding and Support:
• Advocate for scholarships and incentives to increase Latino representation in mental health careers.
• Invest in public health campaigns tailored to Latino communities.
-
Enhancing Awareness:
• Leverage social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook to disseminate educational content.
• Conduct in-person outreach through schools, workplaces, and community hubs.
Fostering Trust:
• Create safe spaces for undocumented individuals to seek help without fear.
• Strengthen partnerships between nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and healthcare systems.
-
• Youth Engagement: Attendees stressed the role of open communication and parental involvement in addressing youth challenges, including stress, peer pressure, and bullying.
• Education on Nutrition and Lifestyle: Many connected the impact of diet and processed foods to mental and physical health, advocating for educational campaigns about healthy living.
Prevention Focus:
• Promote youth sports and extracurricular activities as preventive measures.
• Educate families on recognizing early behavioral changes and stressors.
Similarities and Differences Between Professionals and Community Insights
-
• Culturally Competent Services: Both groups emphasized the urgent need for bilingual and bicultural providers, with professionals advocating for workforce pipelines and the community highlighting the immediate gap in accessible, relatable care.
• Awareness Campaigns: There was strong alignment on using culturally tailored public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma around mental health, with professionals suggesting targeted messaging through community influencers and the community proposing direct outreach via social media, text messaging, and trusted spaces.
• Focus on Prevention: Both forums agreed on the importance of preventative approaches, such as early education about behavioral health and engaging youth in sports and extracurricular activities.
-
• Macro vs. Micro Solutions: Professionals concentrated on structural changes, such as pipeline development for bilingual providers, system integration, and leveraging university partnerships to ease licensing barriers. Community members, in contrast, highlighted practical barriers, such as fear due to immigration status, cost, and lack of trust in existing systems.
• Community Outreach Methods: Professionals proposed leveraging formal systems like schools and workplaces to disseminate information, whereas community members suggested more grassroots methods, including faith-based outreach, informal gatherings, and community events.
• Nutrition and Lifestyle Factors: Community participants uniquely emphasized the role of nutrition and diet in mental health, connecting processed food consumption with broader behavioral health challenges—a theme less explored by professionals.
While professionals provide the blueprint for systemic change, community insights ensure these solutions are grounded in the lived realities of those they aim to serve.
Overall Consensus
The town hall underscored the urgent need for a multi-faceted approach to behavioral health in the Latino community. Participants agreed that solutions require cultural sensitivity, proactive prevention, and collaborative efforts between the government, organizations, and individuals.
This event reinforced Alianza’s commitment to bridging gaps and empowering the community through dialogue and action.
Moving Forward- Join us!
This town hall was an essential step in mobilizing the implementation of the Mecklenburg County Behavioral Health Strategic Plan. The collective wisdom shared by the professionals underscored the importance of culturally tailored programs, linguistically competent clinicians, and community trust. We look forward to continuing our efforts with all stakeholders to ensure that community members have access to the behavioral health services they deserve. Join our conversation by filling out the form below!