Chapter VII: Elements of an Effective Mental Health System
Policy Statement 40: Cultural Competency
Recommendation c: Develop targeted outreach programs to make services available to members of minority communities.
Members of cultural and linguistic minority groups not only have a more difficult time than others accessing services, many simply fail to consider seeking help when they need it. To many in minority communities, the system is remote and frightening, especially when no one working in it appears to share their language or experience. Deep-seated values can also result in even greater stigma within some cultural groups than exist in the general population.
It is therefore very important for local agencies and the public mental health system in general to seek innovative ways to reach out to cultural minorities in their service areas. Outreach can and should take into account the cultural and linguistic barriers that may be standing between people in need and the services that could help them. One effective way to do this is to tailor outreach approaches to specific groups by using their language and by forming partnerships with cultural institutions that traditionally serve specific communities. In many parts of the country, for instance, mental health agencies have sought to improve outreach to African-American populations by forming collaborative relationships with churches in their communities.
Example: Mental Health Association of New York City (NY)
In 1998, the Mental Health Association of New York City extended its LifeNet help line service to the city's Hispanic community by creating Ayudese, a Spanish-language 24 - hour referral and education toll-free telephone service. In 2000, the help line service became available to members of New York's largest Asian communities when a new number was created to provide information and referrals in Mandarin and Cantonese. The service is advertised on posters in different languages that are carried in the city's subway cars. In a recent pilot project, police in eight of the city's police precincts carried LifeNet referral cards in different languages to give to people they perceived to be in need of services.
Example: Haitian Mental Health Clinic, Cambridge (MA)
Operated through Cambridge Hospital, the Haitian Mental Health Clinic provides culturally and linguistically appropriate ambulatory mental health care for first-and second-generation immigrants of the Haitian community of metropolitan Boston, including individual and family treatment for adults and children, long-term and short-term therapy, crisis intervention, psychological testing, and psychopharmacology within a managed care framework, encouraging preventive and primary care.