“There’s a normalization of trauma in this community,… We don’t engage it, we don’t address it.”

Many black people are suffering from mental trauma and other conditions but with treatment being out of reach many in the community are left to suffer the effects, it can ruin relationships, lives and entire communities. Mental health care is very important yet so hard to get.

One pastor is changing that. The quote at the beginning of this article is the words of Pastor Michael Walrond Jr.

He is fighting to destigmatize mental health issues and has opened up a center to help Harlem residents get free counselling.

The Huffington Post reported:

The H.O.P.E. Center, which stands for Healing On Purpose and Evolving, opened on Dec. 15 and is an extension of First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York where Walrond serves as a senior pastor.

Although the church has previously provided informal counseling services to its members, Walrond, who is black, said he wanted to expand on the mental health services offered in the community.

“There’s a normalization of trauma in this community,” Walrond told DNAinfo. “We don’t engage it, we don’t address it.”

But H.O.P.E. plans to reverse this cycle of ignoring the personal battles some members of the community have been enduring. Their website describes the work of their clinicians, in part, as using “evidenced based therapeutic modalities to support a variety of daily living challenges ranging from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, trauma, to sexual abuse and domestic violence, as well as bereavement and marriage/family guidance.”

Today, @NYCFirstLady helped open the First Corinthian Baptist Church’s H.O.P.E. Center, bringing affordable mental healthcare to Harlem. pic.twitter.com/9nKHiVssHI

— Mayoral Photo Office (@NYCMayoralPhoto) December 16, 2016

Waldrond Jr. speaks out about his own depression and is working wonders in the community. Big respect to this guy! Read more here.