Video Badger Talks video: Black community faces mental health crisis

There’s a mental health crisis on the horizon for the Black community, according to Dr. Alvin Thomas. Thomas is assistant professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department in the School of Human Ecology.

He’s also director of the Ethnic Youth and Resilience Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Thomas says the coming crisis will be worse for Black men and boys, who are currently at the epicenter of impact for both COVID-19 and police violence.

In this week’s Badger Talks interview, Thomas argues that there are particular hurdles that make it challenging to connect Black men with the mental health resources they need. He also makes the case that to succeed in addressing the coming crisis, we will need to employ a mix of policy solutions and societal recalibration to address the racial injustice at the root of the problem.

Thomas concludes by offering resources and advice for those struggling with mental health issues. He ends on a note of optimism that this time around, society and policy-makers should be able to meet the challenge successfully.