How Ukrainian Women are Turning Mourning Into Meaning

Tuttleman Counseling Services and the Merakey Mental Health Walk-In Clinic at Temple University offer a variety of mental health services for students on campus, from counseling to yoga and substance use support, serving 30,000 students across the campus.

Working on Womanhood (WOW) hosts weekly, school-based meetings for Black and Hispanic girls in grades six to 12 to connect, work through personal problems and build a sense of self-awareness and confidence, as this population is largely underserved by mental health programs. Research shows that WOW participants experience decreased anxiety and depression and WOW counselors also report seeing less anger and fights among the participating students.

Centers like Brattleboro Retreat are emerging to provide specialized recovery programs for healthcare workers battling addiction. Programs offered are similar to those at standard recovery centers, except here healthcare workers are surrounded by their professional peers, allowing them to find community and express vulnerability.

The Peer Support Team at Northwest Fire District connects firefighters with a trained peer support specialist to talk confidentially about mental health. The program also connects firefighters in need with additional resources like therapy and counseling. In an effort to change the mindset most first responders have toward mental health, there are currently 50 trained peer support specialists throughout the state and more than 1,000 across the country.

In Kern County, where pregnancy-related mortality rates are more than double the California average and Black mothers face life-threatening complications at nearly three times the rate of white women, community doulas are working to bridge the gap between patients and the medical system. Since California expanded Medi-Cal coverage to include doula services in January 2023, more than 1,400 doulas have enrolled statewide, with active training pipelines building the workforce locally.

The Mamacare Foundation has trained over 860 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in hygiene, safe delivery practices, danger-sign recognition, and timely referral systems over the past decade to improve maternal care in the region. The program pairs each TBA with a supervising midwife, creating a collaborative bridge between traditional and modern maternal care. The training has increased referrals from TBAs to clinics by 40%, and district hospitals report fewer emergency cases arriving in critical condition since the Foundation has formed.

InSHAPE provides access to tailored health and fitness programs for people living with serious mental illnesses, helping them quit drinking and smoking, learn about nutrition and build a sense of community through gym memberships and workout groups. InSHAPE has been operating for 20 years, and studies show 60% of participants have clinically significant improvements in their physical health after a year in the program.

StrongMinds provides group therapy run by trained community members to help locals treat and manage their depression, as access to therapists in more rural areas is scarce. Since the organization launched in 2013, half a million people have gone through the treatment program and three-quarters of the participants have been screened as being free of depression symptoms two weeks after completing the program.

Minds United Football Club hosts weekly sessions for people to join together and play football, while also addressing their mental health and well-being. Minds United, and similar sports clubs, aim to create a “we-agency,” providing people with a sense of being part of something bigger than themselves that allows them to feel empowered and supported. Sports groups like Minds United foster community among people who may be experiencing loneliness or mental health issues and are in need of a healthy outlet, particularly for men who face significant mental health stigma.

Black Men Heal Yoga is a free yoga class that provides a safe, healing space for Black men looking to explore tools like meditation, mindfulness and movement to combat stigma and take care of their mental health. Black Men Heal Yoga is funded by money raised through social media. 10 classes have been held so far, with more than 50 men being served and about $2,000 in donations being raised.