The Lasting Impact of Inequality on Mental Health
Inequality...It's the ELEPHANT in the room.
Criminal Justice Inequality
Our news channels and social media feeds are full of everyday examples of excessive force used by police particularly towards racial and ethnic minorities and the poor. Additionally, prisons throughout the nation are routinely overcrowded often as a result of harsh sentences for petty offenses. The victims of these harsh sentences are primarily poorer individuals who lack adequate representation in the criminal justice system.
Educational Equity
For decades, urban and rural areas have struggled with teacher shortages, lack of funding in public education, and violence on school grounds. As suburban and exurban school districts continue to thrive and receive more than adequate funding, our urban and rural districts continue to fall further behind. This affects all racial and ethnic groups in a negative way, but it especially negatively affects the Black community.
Healthcare Inequality
People in low-income neighborhoods continue to be the victims of increasing disparities in health outcomes. Making matters worse is the fact that health research for many diseases and treatments is not routinely conducted with a focus on minority populations, thereby eliminating better understanding of the potential benefits and risks associated with these groups.
Furthermore, access to primary care and specialty care continues to decline in rural areas across the country. This has a significant negative impact along racial and ethnic lines, gender, and age groups. Black maternal and infant mortality is an ALARMING problem in America for some reason. Black women are three times more likely to have a maternal death than white women in the U.S.
Some of the factors causing Black women to be at an increased risk for maternal death include:
📌Low income or education
📌High stress living environments
📌Exposure to trauma
📌Food insecurity
📌Lack of access to quality care or health coverage
We are quite frankly FAILING our Black mothers in this country.
Home Ownership Inequality
The Fair Housing Act may have been passed in 1968, but we are still experiencing an inexplicable disparity related to homes being owned by Black families. According to the U.S. Census for the first quarter of 2021, 44% of Black families own their home in comparison to 73.7% of white families owning their own home. What's more, the practice of redlining is still pervasive in many cities across the country.
Income Inequality
Women earn 22% less than men on average. Black, Hispanic and Latino women earn even less on average than white women. The largest pay gaps between men and women, according to inequality.org appears among Whites and Asians. Asian men earn nearly double that of men and women who are Black, Hispanic, or Latino.
Does INEQUALITY have a lasting impact one’s mental health? In a word, YES!
Be well!
Until the stigma is no more,
#mentalhealth #raceequality #mentalhealthmatters