Mental Health in the Black Community and how Faith played a Part!

Teller: Asia Cross

Asia has ten years of experience in the social service industry. She graduated from Columbia College. She has worked with children and adults with vocational training, cognitive disabilities and mental health. Asia currently works for two deliverance and inner healing ministries, God Therapy and Divergence.

Mental Health as it relates to the Church and the Black Community

Tell me stories that you have encountered working in the social service industry. 

Asia: There is a high population of African-Americans that is placed in the home, through DSFC.

How do they get placed there?

Asia: It could be through the courts, their behavior of a young adult who is not diagnosed but has “bad” behaviors, parents, several different ways.

What age range?

Asia:16-25. I worked with them, starting at 16, not younger.

How is the diagnosis determined? 

Asia: Most of the time, it at school through an IEP because of bad behavior in school.

What is this facility? Do they live there? 

Asia: Yes, It’s a traditional home. The goal was to teach them based on living skills. It’s to help them find employment and etc.

The one I worked with the state was the guardian and not the parent since they came from DSFC

Other topics of discussion

Client experience 

• A female client had lots of trauma

• Faith played a large part as a believer in working with these individuals.

• Knowing the stories of the people were key to working with them. You could research the clients or not

Facility

• They had houses throughout Chicago.

• Five bedrooms with five people

Faith

• Things would happen that you couldn’t explain

• A girl told her she would run away and hearing voices about killing herself and her. She told her she couldn’t hurt her because she has angels.

• Laying on hands and deliverance

• Deliverance “The casting out of demons.”

What advice would you give someone that is having a mental health illness, diagnosed or not diagnosed?

• Self Care!

What can we do as a black community to address the issue of Mental Health?

• Talk about it!

• Go to the groups available.

• Pray and do the work!

• Therapy