TAMPA, Fla. — May is Mental Health Awareness Month and for some communities, getting vital mental health information and resources out to people who need it most, is a challenge. 

That’s why a Bay area organization is using the arts to get the word out since it’s something everyone can relate to.

What You Need To Know

  •  May is Mental Health Awareness Month

  • Despite the needs, only one in three Black adults with mental illness receive treatment

  • According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Mental Health Facts for African Americans guide

  • The guide also shows Black adults are less likely to receive guideline-consistent care, less frequently included in research and more likely to use emergency rooms or primary care (rather than mental health specialists)

Saturday the Tampa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. is hosting its 9th annual Expressions of Determination, Strength, and Triumph event. The event highlights mental health, specifically in the Black community for mental health awareness month. 

Spoken word artist Carl Forrester will be preforming at the event.

“I’ve been doing spoken word since I wanna say 2010 in high school. It wasn’t until recently where I used it as a tool for encouraging others,” he said. “It’s one of my goals for my listeners to know that you’re not alone in this. I myself struggle with this. Just because I’m on a platform doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle with things. I’m human just like the next person.”

Michelle Morton is another performer set to attend this year’s event. She’s is not only a poet, she’s also a clinical mental health therapist. So, she knows how impactful spoken words and the arts can be when it comes to mental health.

“I really do believe that using poetry and writing is very helpful because it allows you to see another side of mental health,” Morton said.

She’s dedicated her career to making sure the Black community is exposed to mental health treatment. It’s why she said she uses her gifts to reach a community where mental health is often stigmatized.

“When I think about mental health in the black community, I think about the stigmas that we have faced as a people. The oppression, the continuous things we have been taught down from our ancestors and the things we believe are true but really are myths,” Morton said.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), despite the need, only one in three Black adults with mental illness receives treatment.

Black adults are also less likely to receive consistent care-when it comes to research, they’re less likely to be included and more likely to use emergency rooms or primary care doctors instead of mental health specialists.  

The Expressions of Determination, Strength, and Triumph event is free and open to the public. It’s being held at the University Area Community Development Center in Tampa from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.