Why?

      At Healing for All, we believe race, gender, sexual orientation and income level should not dictate the mental health care that is accessible. We believe that every person deserves the same exact access to care as anyone else. Oftentimes, low income individuals are only given a few options for care in their community. We believe these same individuals should be allowed to see any provider they chose. This increases treatment autonomy and the individuals ability to choose a provider they feel they can connect with which increases treatment efficacy and success.

Why support mental healthcare for racial minorities?

In 2001, the Office of the Surgeon General published a report [] titled, “Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity.” This report found disparities in access to mental health for African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans an Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic Americans. A lack of health insurance was cited as an important reason for the disparities for all populations studied.

A 2012 report [] found that “racial and ethnic minorities still have less access to mental health services than whites, and when they receive care, it is more likely to be of poorer quality.”

As recently as 2017, the American Psychiatric Association [] found that, common barriers for many racial/ethnic groups in The United States still include the following:

• • Lack of insurance, under-insurance
  • Mental illness stigma, often greater among minority populations
  • Lack of diversity among mental health care providers
  • Lack of culturally competent providers
  • Language barriers
  • Distrust in the health care system
  • Inadequate support for mental health service in safety net settings (uninsured, Medicaid, Health Insurance Coverage other vulnerable patients).

     A 2015 report from SAMHSA [] shows that gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults are more than twice as likely to suffer from a mental illness as straight adults, and a 2019 report from Transgender Health [] shows that transgender adults are more than four times as likely to suffer from mental illness as cisgender adults.

This disparity in mental health also comes with economic disparities. A 2019 report from UCLA [] shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults have a 22% poverty rate, with transgender adults having a poverty rate of 29%, compared to 16% for straight, cisgender adults.

        A study published in the journal of Women’s Health ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6743083/) found that women are twice as likely to have suffered from depression in the past year than men. Women also have a higher prevalence throughout their lifetime of mood disorders. These mental health concerns often cause not only psychological distress for the women affected by physical health concerns as well. The study also found that women continue to experience unmet needs associated with mental healthcare and cost is the most common barrier to their care. 

Johnson PJ, Jou J, Upchurch DM. Health Care Disparities Among U.S. Women of Reproductive Age by Level of Psychological Distress. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2019 Sep;28(9):1286-1294. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.7551. Epub 2019 Jun 7. PMID: 31173549; PMCID: PMC6743083.

How?

Healing for All is addressing these continuing disparities in the following ways:

• • By removing financial barriers through direct payment for mental health services.

  • By allowing clients to choose any provider within their community 

  • By supporting ongoing therapeutic relationships between clients and their providers.
  • By partnering with private mental healthcare providers (psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, etc).

How to get involved:

As a client:

• • Submit an application form (CLICK HERE)
  • Healing for All will reach out with additional questions and/or notify you if you have been approved. Approval is based on the applicant’s demonstrated need and Healing for All’s available resources.
  • Once you have been approved, you can sign a release of information for the provider you wish to see and we will reach out to discuss their willingness to utilize funding from our organization for your services. Once we have your provider on board, you can schedule your session and begin services.

As a provider:

• • Join our network (CLICK HERE)
  • Clients will seek services and tell you that Healing for All is covering the costs.