Working to improve the lives of children and adults with mental illness and their families

African Americans

Contact Us

NAMI Minnesota
800 Transfer Road, #31
Saint Paul, MN 55114

phone: 651-645-2948
toll free: 1-888-NAMI-HELPS
fax: 651-645-7379

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African American Outreach Project

NAMI Minnesota's African American Outreach Project addresses stigma and provides support in the African American community. For information, contact Matthea Little Smith at 651-645-2948 ext. 108 or msmith1@nami.org.

Family Support Group for African Americans

A new family support group for African Americans will meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at the NAMI Office. The support group starts at 6:00 pm and go until 7:30 pm. Contact Matthea at 651-645-2948 ext. 108 or msmith1@nami.org.

In the News

Fitness: Not Just for Our Bodies - MN Spokesman-Recorder, 3-23-10
PTSD: A Personal Story - MN Spokesman-Recorder, 2-23-10

July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
For a list of suggested activities and for more information, click here.

A national ad campaign has been launched to create awareness of mental health problems in multicultural communities. See PSAs.

Helpful Links

African American Family Services
Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Consultation, Inc.
Real Warriors – Real Battles – Real Strength
Sharing Ourselves … Healing Starts with Us
The Stay Strong Foundation

Multicultural Action Center

People of color face life-threatening disparities in access to high quality mental healthcare. Many reports, including the Surgeon General’s Report on Cultural, Race and Ethnicity (2001) and the Institute of Medicine’s 2003 report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, point to the great disparities of minority mental health in this country and the resulting toll on our society. NAMI recognizes that diversity goes beyond race and ethnicity, and the Center strives to represent and advocate for America’s broad cultural and life groups that are outside the mainstream.

In response to this national crisis, NAMI created the Multicultural Action Center. This center works to focus attention on system reform to ensure access to culturally competent services and treatment for all Americans and particularly to help and support families of diverse communities who are dealing with mental illness.

African American Faith-Based Initiative
The NAMI Multicultural Action Center is working on the development of a faith-based African American mental health education program. Our goal is to create a culturally competent foot-in-the-door education piece to serve as a gateway to other NAMI education programs. Recognizing that spirituality and faith play a very important role in the African American community, this interactive multimedia program will be a mental health outreach tool for targeting African American families through the faith community. Click here for more information.

Article on a Faith Initiative Panel Discussion on Mental Illness -- Penetrating the Isolation of Mental Illness.

Resources on Cultural Competence
• Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence, here.
• Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, here.
• National Alliance of Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Associations, here.
• Cultural Competence Online, here.
• Cultural Competence Standards in Managed Mental Health Care Services: Four Underserved/Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups, here.
• Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (DHHS, 2001); A Supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, here.
• The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, here.

National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide
NOPCAS was formed to stop the tragic epidemic of suicide in minority communities. The organization is developing innovative strategies to address this urgent national problem. For more information, click here.

The National Alliance of Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Associationsis another resource, link here.