I Belong Strong – that’s the message of Saturday’s mental health forum for Black veterans. The event is a partnership between the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute and the NAACP, both of which are trying to address challenges in Kent County’s veteran community.
Reverend Charles Hudson is the program coordinator. He says many of these barriers are amplified by historic stigma, poverty and COVID-19.
“Veterans in general have been overlooked. When they came back from Vietnam, even prior to that WWII. The diagnosis for trauma wasn’t really highlighted. It caused a lot of lingering, ongoing and residual issues for particularly with African American veterans. So that is what we’re trying to do.”
Black male and female veterans have higher rates of PTSD and drug use than white veterans – and that’s paired with lower access to care and rates of benefit claims. As a veteran himself, Hudson says these are the systems and inequities that must be addressed.
“The Veteran’s Administration along with the community-based health care agencies have not really met the need. The effects of these issues can be very wide reaching and impact the service members and their families.”
The free event will be held at the Center for Community Transformation on February 17th from 8:30 – 11am with both panel and roundtable discussions. Registration is required.
