TULSA, Okla — Communities of color are coming together over the next ten weeks to break stereotypes around accessing mental health services and where to find resources.
The North Tulsa Community Coalition is raising awareness about mental health across North Tulsa.
The group kicked off it's first day of a ten week challenge Saturday afternoon.
One in four Americans experience mental health issues, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Also one in five African Americans are more likely to experience serious mental health problems when compared to the general population, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
One goal for the group is to make mental health services less scary and more accessible.
Cynthia Mooney with the Oklahoma Mental Health Association tells 2 News, “Getting physical, being out, taking care of our bodies is something that we’ve all sort of talked about, but how that impacts us mentally, how that keeps us from falling into depression or anxiety and the impact of that is so important, especially after everything we’ve been through the last year,” Cynthia Mooney with the Oklahoma Mental Health Association said.
Mooney said their Mental Health Assistant Center has been receiving more calls than they ever have in the past.
“Online and depression screenings have gone up like 500 percent," Mooney said.
Co-organizer Marshan Marick said the conversation about addressing mental health within the community started back in 2018, and today is more relevant especially after a year of a pandemic.
“This is huge because we’ve been isolated in some respects for a while, we have lost some of those connections,”Marick said.
The Joyful Movement North Tulsa aims to connect people to mental health resources and providers.
"We developed joyful movement as a response to what the community said and so this is our attempt to bring together the idea of wellness and physical activity in a way that empowers people to take control of their health and well-being,” Marick said.
The next wellness challenge will be at the Malone Center in Chamberlain Park on Thursday, June 10th.
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