CommCARE Announces Racial Equity and Mental Health Panel Series

Kansas City, MO: CommCARE is partnering with REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Metro Council of Community Behavioral Health Centers to host a 4-month racial equity and mental health panel series on Zoom. The first panel session is on Thursday, May 20 from 9:30-11:00 a.m. CT, and additional sessions will be held on Thursday, June 17, Thursday, July 15 and Thursday, August 19 from 9:30-11:00 a.m. CT. The topics for each session include:

• Thursday, May 20: “The Big Picture: The History of Mental Health and Race” - Register today!
• Thursday, June 17: “Kansas City’s Mental Health Ecosystem: Considering Our Troubled Past”- Register today!
• Thursday, July 15: “The Here and Now: Racial Equity in Clinical Settings”- Register today!
• Thursday, August 19: “Using Our Lived Experiences to Design an Equitable Future”- Register today!

Terry Trafton, president/CEO of CommCARE, says the idea for the event came about after CommCARE began having internal discussions about racism in the mental health system.

“We felt that it was important to dig into the complexities of this topic out in the community, rather than just within our organization. It’s important to understand why we are experiencing such a mental health crisis and observing disparate outcomes and unmet needs in communities of color. CommCARE engaged Kathryn Evans, president of Rooted Strategy, as a community engagement consultant to assist in exploring these important topics,” Trafton said.

“This panel series provides an opportunity for awareness and analysis, which can be transformed into action at the organizational and individual levels. The REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Metro Council have a commitment to communities of color and has supported this project in partnership with CommCARE.”

Mental health providers, clinicians, administrators and other individuals of interest can register for the first session on Zoom. To learn more about CommCARE, visit https://www.commcare1.org/.

Learn more about REACH Healthcare Foundation at https://reachhealth.org/ and Metro Council of Community Behavioral Health Centers at https://mentalhealthkc.org/.

Download the interactive flyer >>

For more information:
Kathryn Evans, Community Engagement
Kathryn.Evans@commcare1.org
816-472-9012, ext. 100