Mental Health for African Americans (Senior Thesis)

According to Psychiatric Times, the economic downturn and many issues that people have faced during this pandemic have affected black households harder. The stresses and losses that have occurred shows an increase of depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicide. Stemming from these conditions are another set of issues of being biased and discriminated against for their mental health for their race. Although there are numerous resources for mental health only one in three of young African-American adults that require care actually receive care. I am wanting to encourage and educate these young African-American adults on ways to seek help so they know that they are heard and encourage them so they know that they are not alone. This is a very touchy subject, so in order to achieve this goal I would need to approach it in a way that I don’t offend anyone or discourage them from taking the necessary actions. My goal is to create a network that will provide them with the correct information about receiving help and ensuring that they can seek help with confidence. I would first design a poster for this network as the first product. The second product would be a tri-fold brochure that would be informational, such as how to receive help and the resources that are available in Charlotte. The final product, I would like to design an instagram campaign. The campaign would be showing off motivation quotes, resources, and awareness. My overall goal is to increase the percentage of black individuals to seek help in comfort.