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CBHA Public Newsletter
August 20th, 2021
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A Message from CBHA Leadership: Back to School
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Dear Colleagues,
As our children return to school, we all have anxiety about what this year will entail and how we can best support our students. Yesterday, I dropped my son, Edison Harvey, off for his first day of Pre-K. As I watched him run into school, I reflected on how we were able to navigate this past year. I recognize the privilege that through a supportive family with means, my son is afforded opportunities that many others who look like him are unable to take advantage of.
Earlier this week, CBHA had the honor to be invited along with member agencies, Unity Care, Safe Passages, Southern California Health & Rehabilitation Program, and colleagues from the Native American Health Center to participate in an informational hearing hosted by the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men Color (BMOC). The hearing focused on "Opportunities for Systemically Underserved Youth in Post-Pandemic California." In particular, our panel discussed mitigating the pandemic's negative impact on behavioral health among Black, Indigenous, & People of Color (BIPOC) youth.
Historically, BIPOC communities' use of mental health and substance use disorder services has been impacted by factors including access to treatment, cultural beliefs, and stigma. And, because of this, when BIPOC individuals seek help- it tends to be at a time of crisis- at an ER, psychiatric hospital, or with law enforcement. Over the past year, in California and across the nation, we have grappled with the individual and collective traumas of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, for many, another pandemic has plagued communities for much longer—a racial reckoning that challenges us to stand up against the systematic and structural racism that has resulted in inequities for BIPOC communities in all aspects of American Life. COVID-19 presented another contributor of chronic toxic stress, revealing the scope and magnitude of generational inequities for BIPOC communities, particularly in health care.
We have seen that since the start of the pandemic, youth and, in particular, BIPOC youth have experienced a 10% increase in opioid use; we have seen increases in youth death by suicide; and calls to crisis hotlines have increased. In a National Council for Mental Wellbeing survey of 4000 BIPOC adults, 11% of Black adults say finding an organization that "looks like me or shares my culture and identity" would be the most significant obstacle to seeking treatment for their mental health. America has woken up to the fact we are on the verge of a mental health crisis like we have never seen before, and once again, due to inequities in our systems of care, BIPOC communities are set to bear the disproportional impact of the crisis.
All of this is problematic, and we anticipate that our state will see an influx of behavioral health emergencies as children go back to school and parents go back to in-person work. There's a lot that needs to be processed, and there needs to be supports in place to help boys, men of color, and their communities cope in the aftermath of these pandemics.
These disproportional effects on our youth are core components to why CBHA is sponsoring SB 14, introduced by Senator Portantino. Health care professionals remain highly concerned about racial & cultural disparities evident in California's behavioral health treatment system. SB 14 requires the California Department of Education to recommend best practices and identify training programs to address youth behavioral health, including but not limited to staff and pupil training. Additionally, the bill ensures that youth absences from school for mental health issues will be treated as an excused absence in the same way any other health issues are treated. Together we can address the challenges to our student’s health.
CBHA is proud to be at the table as we form policies to combat the disproportional impact COVID-19 has had on communities of color. Please see the upcoming events and announcements below to further the conversation on behavioral health in California.
In Service,
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Le Ondra Clark Harvey, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
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Registration Now Open:
CBHA's 4th Annual Mental Health First Aid Summit
Navigating the 2.0 Galaxy - September 23, 2021 (Virtually)
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‘Virtual’ Mental Health Matters Day
September 29, 2021 | 9:00am - 1:00pm
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U.S. To Erase Student Debt For Those With Severe Disabilities
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The Biden administration announced Thursday it will automatically erase student loan debt for more than 300,000 Americans with severe disabilities that leave them unable to earn significant incomes.
The move will wipe out more than $5.8 billion in debt, according to the Education Department, and it marks the start of a broader overhaul of a program that has been criticized for having overly burdensome rules.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change and we are excited to follow through on it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
The federal government offers student debt relief for people who are “totally and permanently disabled” and have limited incomes. But the current rules require them to submit documentation of their disability and undergo a three-year monitoring period to prove they’re earning little pay.
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Joint Statement from HHS Public Health and Medical Experts on COVID-19 Booster Shots
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On Wednesday, public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the following statement on the Administration’s plan for COVID-19 booster shots for the American people.
The statement is attributable to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Dr. Janet Woodcock, Acting Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); Dr. Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health; Dr. David Kessler, Chief Science Officer for the COVID-19 Response; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, Chair of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force:
“The COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States continue to be remarkably effective in reducing risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. Recognizing that many vaccines are associated with a reduction in protection over time, and acknowledging that additional vaccine doses could be needed to provide long lasting protection, we have been analyzing the scientific data closely from the United States and around the world to understand how long this protection will last and how we might maximize this protection. The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease. Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout. For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability."
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We appreciate UST, long-time Affinity Member, for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.
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We appreciate our Business Associates for their partnerships that both provide our members exceptional services and sponsor our advocacy efforts.
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