Racism and Police Brutality Cause Mental Health Trauma

Dear friends,

As a trauma-informed agency, we know that the first step of healing from trauma is creating safety. Black people living in constant fear of their lives and the lives of their loved ones is a mental health emergency. And with each new instance of police violence, we are reminded that the ability to find safety is not equally distributed in our community. The suffering can feel relentless. Grief, anger, hopelessness and exhaustion are normal responses to these horrific events.

The recent acts of police brutality represent only a tiny fraction of the inhumane cruelty that white people in power have perpetrated against the Black community for over 400 years. As Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker wrote recently, “The lynching of George Floyd follows an infinite history of white brutality against Black Lives. From the time that bodies were stolen from the coasts of Africa to present day, white people have failed to see us as human.” As we mourn the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and see the threat to Christian Cooper’s life, we encourage everyone to recognize the horrific impact, both physical and emotional, that racism and systems of oppression have on the Black community. The coronavirus’s disproportionate impact on Black men and women is yet another chapter in this same brutal history. Any possibility of healing these longstanding wounds requires recognition and reckoning with the truth of the trauma.

The mission of The Women’s Initiative is vitally connected to fighting for safety and justice for every member of our community. We stand in solidarity with Black leaders and communities locally and nationally seeking justice and promoting safe spaces for healing. We encourage you to take action for change (see resources below) and to take care of yourself during these difficult days. If needed, please consider our Call-in Clinic, or connecting with our Sister Circle Program or some of the other local and national resources listed below. If you have suggestions for additional ways that our organization can proactively support our community,
please feel free to be in touch directly with me.

Racism is a mental health issue because trauma and the inability to feel safe are mental health issues. Black lives matter; Black safety matters; Black mental health and healing matters.

Much love,

Elizabeth Irvin, LCSW
Executive Director, The Women's Initiative

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