Providing Holistic Care to Moms In Recovery

One-third to half of those killed by police are disabled, a recent report says. “Our problem isn’t with police,” one mental health advocate says, but both sides say officers need more training.

Assertive community treatment teams working through outreach-centered programs in Maricopa County have become an industry standard for treating those with persistent and severe mental illnesses who have recently been incarcerated. They provide a long-term approach, aiming to halt a cycle of incarceration and hospitalization by focusing on underlying issues such as what caused the police interaction and incarceration.

Connecting LGTBQ+ teens with peers and adults for support can help reduce depression and the risk of suicide. Organizations like the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center in Durango, Colorado, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at Fort Lewis College provide safe spaces where youth feel welcome and supported by a network of peers and adults. The centers also act as social spaces where youth, parents, and their communities can come together.

In several small rural towns in Texas, mental health professionals from Texas Tech are offering telemedicine counseling to make up for a lack of counselors available in local middle and high schools. The Governor's office has now asked the successful school districts to develop a training program for teachers in other Texas districts in order to scale the model.

The simple addition of adding handles to bathroom stalls in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has helped the camps' pregnant women regain a sense of empowerment and dignity. Providing support and balance, the design of these latrines have benefited the elderly in the camps as well.

Based out of the city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, a live radio show is tackling the stigma around mental health care by combining their platform with those in the mental health care field. Not only does the radio show discuss psychological issues on air, but it also offers free and reduced-cost mental health services to those that serve as guests on the show.

Vermont has opened its first donor milk center which acts as a breast milk bank for mothers that are in need of milk for their newborn babies. The Vermont Donor Milk Center aims to be a "one-stop shop," and also offers lactation consultation, maternal education, and supports for non-lactating partners.

Mexico's Pilot Program for Licensed Physicians brings Mexican doctors to the states to address the lack of culturally relevant healthcare and Spanish-speaking healthcare providers, particularly in rural areas with large immigrant populations. Currently, the program has 30 Mexican doctors working in various counties throughout the state.

To enhance rural access to healthcare in Nigeria, the Parkers Mobile Clinic partners with local volunteers, healthcare professionals, educators, and community development advocates to identify and remedy unique healthcare gaps. Outreach programs are then designed to provide localized mental health support, nutritional counseling, and other reproductive health services.

Birth in Color's doulas are filling the maternity care gap as rural labor and delivery rooms close, disproportionately impacting people of color. Doulas provide physical, emotional and informational support before, during and after childbirth, and advocate on the mother’s behalf. Doula care leads to improved birth outcomes and lower rates of C-sections, and in April 2022 doula services were added under the state’s Medicaid program.