Beyond COVID-19: Addressing the Past and Future in the Present
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
Online Event
Friday May 21, 2021
Friday May 21, 2021
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Welcome!
Ladies, Gentlemen and Fellow Professional Bodies & Agencies:
It is with great privilege that we welcome you to our 2021 7th African Mental Health Virtual Summit hosted by Progressive Individual Resources, Inc. and Restoration for All Inc. We hope that through the platform of this Virtual Summit, we can all strive to continue our services and research in the field of Mental Health of people of African Descent.
The Summit theme this year is "Beyond COVID-19: Addressing the Past and Future in the Present". This theme is important and very relevant to the current challenges of COVID-19 pandemic as well as the systemic racism and inequality that has led to global civil unrest. The COVID-19 global pandemic uncovers the deeply entrenched racial inequalities which has been severe among Africans in the Diaspora. The potential health effects that have been referenced by research due to COVID-19 include serious mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, substance and alcohol abuse disorders, as well as gambling addiction and problem gambling. To set the mental health care programs and services on a better course, there is a need to develop racially-just mental health responses. The 7th African Mental Health Virtual Summit will feature important presentations that would bridge the gaps between challenges and solutions, provide tools and skills to inform true and collective action needed to find psychological liberation during the COVID-19 Pandemic and beyond.
We believe this Summit will enrich an important public debate on the necessity of resilience and the need to dig deeper in order to live above and beyond the mental health consequences of Systemic Racism and COVID – 19. People of African Descent are resilient and contain strengths in the form of familial, communal and cultural institutions and the recognition, acknowledgement and appreciation of all these will be helpful in recognizing, restoring and utilizing our resilience which is a critical asset that inspire us to thrive at a time like this.
We want to congratulate the 2021 AMHS Awardees who have demonstrated the values of generosity, excellence, inclusion, mentoring, and integrity as well as visionary leadership through their passion and dedication to the delivery of mental health services to people of African Descent.
We thank our annual sponsors: Minnesota State Department of Human Services, Mental Health and Substance Use Division, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health, Ramsey County Children Mental Health Collaborative, NAMI Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, Health Partners, Allina Health, New Concept Counseling, St. Catherine University, Blue Cross Blue Shield MN, Mains'l Services Brooklyn Park, University of St. Thomas School of Social Work, St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development, Minnetonka, The Catalyst Initiative at the Minneapolis Foundation, Prairie Care Medical Group, Fairview Hospital, Metro Services, UnitedHealthcare & Optum, and Minnesota State Department of Health. Without their sustained and generous financial support, we would not have been able to offer full scholarships and meet the cost of other things needed for the success of the Summit.
Finally, we wish all of you an informative exchange of ideas and a Summit opportunity that stimulates an appetite for more in 2022.
It is with great privilege that we welcome you to our 2021 7th African Mental Health Virtual Summit hosted by Progressive Individual Resources, Inc. and Restoration for All Inc. We hope that through the platform of this Virtual Summit, we can all strive to continue our services and research in the field of Mental Health of people of African Descent.
The Summit theme this year is "Beyond COVID-19: Addressing the Past and Future in the Present". This theme is important and very relevant to the current challenges of COVID-19 pandemic as well as the systemic racism and inequality that has led to global civil unrest. The COVID-19 global pandemic uncovers the deeply entrenched racial inequalities which has been severe among Africans in the Diaspora. The potential health effects that have been referenced by research due to COVID-19 include serious mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, substance and alcohol abuse disorders, as well as gambling addiction and problem gambling. To set the mental health care programs and services on a better course, there is a need to develop racially-just mental health responses. The 7th African Mental Health Virtual Summit will feature important presentations that would bridge the gaps between challenges and solutions, provide tools and skills to inform true and collective action needed to find psychological liberation during the COVID-19 Pandemic and beyond.
We believe this Summit will enrich an important public debate on the necessity of resilience and the need to dig deeper in order to live above and beyond the mental health consequences of Systemic Racism and COVID – 19. People of African Descent are resilient and contain strengths in the form of familial, communal and cultural institutions and the recognition, acknowledgement and appreciation of all these will be helpful in recognizing, restoring and utilizing our resilience which is a critical asset that inspire us to thrive at a time like this.
We want to congratulate the 2021 AMHS Awardees who have demonstrated the values of generosity, excellence, inclusion, mentoring, and integrity as well as visionary leadership through their passion and dedication to the delivery of mental health services to people of African Descent.
We thank our annual sponsors: Minnesota State Department of Human Services, Mental Health and Substance Use Division, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health, Ramsey County Children Mental Health Collaborative, NAMI Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, Health Partners, Allina Health, New Concept Counseling, St. Catherine University, Blue Cross Blue Shield MN, Mains'l Services Brooklyn Park, University of St. Thomas School of Social Work, St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development, Minnetonka, The Catalyst Initiative at the Minneapolis Foundation, Prairie Care Medical Group, Fairview Hospital, Metro Services, UnitedHealthcare & Optum, and Minnesota State Department of Health. Without their sustained and generous financial support, we would not have been able to offer full scholarships and meet the cost of other things needed for the success of the Summit.
Finally, we wish all of you an informative exchange of ideas and a Summit opportunity that stimulates an appetite for more in 2022.
See you all at the Virtual Summit!
Dr. Tolulope Monisola Ola (MPH)
Founder & Executive Director, Restoration for All (REFA) Inc. |
Richard Oni, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Progressive Individual Resources Inc. |