Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with The African American Male Wellness Agency in support of the Real Men Real Talk Initiative.
Mental Health is now more than ever an issue that needs to be addressed in the African American community, as it can be traced to be the foundation of a lot of the issues in the black community. From violence, unemployment, and lack of educational achievement these issues all stem from some sort of trauma affecting the mental health of the members of the community, especially African American men who are often at the bottom of the disparity gap in many of these areas. By going directly into the Linden community and engaging the hardest to reach and underserved African American men with resources as well as hosting community conversations with mental health professionals, we can collectively build stronger neighborhoods.
Over the past 4 years, AA Wellness has been addressing mental wellness from various educational perspectives through the Real Men Real Talk Initiative, previously known as Barbershop Talk. The primary objective of the Real Men Real Talk Initiative is to facilitate conversations with African American men around mental health and opioid addiction in places such as barbershops, churches, restaurants and recreation centers. Utilizing evidence-based results, the agency finds it valuable to implement an “out of the box” approach to host conversations and provide supportive services with over 250 African American men over an 8 month period. Within the program design, the agency uses a collaborative approach with local faith-based organizations, barbers, mental health specialists, drug counselors and community stakeholders.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to avoid any delay in providing the resources necessary to sustain the Real Men Real Talk Initiative.
Title
To authorize the City Cl...
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