GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids mom hopes to raise awareness on the unique struggles racial and ethnic minority communities face through an organization she formed in honor of her son.
“We want them to value life, their life,” said Jamie Dalton, Licensed Master Social Worker. “Often times when you see dark, you can’t see past that.”
Dalton is the founder of "I Matter, We Matter," a mental health organization in Grand Rapids that provides free mental health services to people who live in the 49507 zip code.
She formed the group after her oldest child, Jodeci, 26, died by suicide in 2019 after struggling with depression.
According to Dalton, Jodeci cared deeply about his family and friends. He owned a semi-trucking company and helped her start her own practice.
“It was that vision that he saw for me that made this vision that I see for him,” said Dalton. “He’s my heart.”
While mental health conditions can affect anyone regardless of their background, the National Association of Mental Health says racial trauma and ongoing discrimination can cause and significantly worsen symptoms.
Additionally, communities of color face added barriers to mental health care, like cultural stigma, lack of available mental health professionals and inadequate community-based treatment options.
“Mental illness within the African American community is, it’s really a taboo subject. What happens in the home, stays in the home,” said Dalton. “[We’re trying to] let them know it’s okay to have uncomfortable conversations.”
According to the American Psychiatric Association, only one in three African Americans who need mental health care receive it.
Compared to white people, African Americans are less likely to receive guideline-consistent care, less frequently included in research and more likely to use emergency rooms or primary care physicians or care rather than mental health specialists.
“There’s hope, there’s help and there’s healing. I think that’s the part where people don’t understand,” said DeWana Lancaster, clinical liaison. “They think that they’re struggling in an area with a mental illness. You don’t have to struggle alone.”
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that, in 2018, the death rate from suicide for black men was four times greater than for black women; however, the overall suicide rate for African Americans was 60 percent lower than that of the non-Hispanic white population.
Black females, grades nine through 12, were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide in 2019, as compared to non-Hispanic white females of the same age.
Sammeetra Carr says I Matter, We Matter changed her and her daughter’s lives.
Now, she works as a resource specialist with the organization.
“I read the flyer and I was like, 'this is what I need at this moment,'” said Carr. “I Matter, We Matter definitely helped me and my family.”
I Matter, We Matter meets weekly on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. at LifeQuest Church, 1050 Fisk Rd SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507.
People can also email imwm.michigan@gmail.com.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 9-8-8.
