MLK Event to Focus on Need for Mental Health Services in Minority Communities
MLK Event Strives to Bring Needed Mental Health Services to Underserved Populations
Palo Alto University Students Collaborate with the Foundation for Justice and Peace
Rev. Floyd Thompkins of Foundation for Justice and Peace to Speak
In recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. day, psychology and counseling students at Palo Alto University are collaborating with the Foundation for Justice and Peace (JPF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the vision of Rev. Martin Luther King. The Association of Traumatic Stress Studies (ATSS) and the Association of Students for Social Justice (ASSJ) will host a presentation and workshop by Rev. Floyd Thompkins, CEO of the Foundation for Justice and Peace on the need to provide more mental health services to minority communities. The event will take place via Zoom on Monday, January 18th, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. (PST). Register here.
The goal is to foster positive change within communities. Rev. Thompkins will be providing context on what underserved communities like the African American church community in the Bay Area experience and which avenues they turn to for support, as well as how mental health service providers can meet these populations where they are.
"This event represents the outreach potential of the the Palo Alto University community,” says Sheila Mae Park, president of the student trauma club, ATSS. “As future clinicians, we can improve our focused efforts by bringing awareness to some of the very real experiences that occur within several underserved communities.”
Rev. Floyd Thompkins has served as Dean of Religious Life at two world-class institutions, Stanford and Princeton universities. He has developed unique, highly effective programs to empower underserved teenage youth and young adults in urban and rural areas—in East Palo Alto, CA, and rural South Georgia.
Park said that Reverend Thompkins and the Foundation for Justice and Peace are continuously generating research, providing programming and resources, and interacting with underserved communities in order to address the lack of mental health services by providing support where they can. “If we, the PAU community, wish to increase our positive impact on the communities around us, we need to actively get out there, meet them where they are, and continuously educate ourselves on what individuals and groups are experiencing, what they need to receive, and how we can adequately address those needs and provide additional resources. I think this event certainly touches on the beginnings of these types of outreach efforts, so I hope you will join us," said Park.