Five on Friday: Mental Health Awareness Month 2021

It’s already getting to the end of Mental Health Awareness Month. MCN’s Witness to Witness has provided numerous tools in the last year to help clinicians and health advocates take care of themselves in addition to caring for their communities. Many people experienced the COVID-19 pandemic on top of other natural, political, and personal disasters, from the national reckoning with racism after the deaths of too many people, to earthquakes in Puerto Rico and massive fires in California, to job loss, loss of connection to others, lack of in-person schooling and activities, and more. These compounding tragedies and stressors take a toll, particularly on those caring for others. Be sure to read Kaethe Weingarten’s recent blog post, "Yes, You ARE Entitled to Your Grief!": Looking at a Year of Many Losses, Many Kinds of Grief. More resources will be added soon to the W2W page so be sure to check back. On to Five on Friday – five resources that are shared by MCN staff that we thought may be helpful or interesting to you.

Several articles shared this week centered on Black health disparities and health care access. Candace shared this article and accompanying film from the New Yorker: “Black Mothers Face Dangerous Health-Care Disparities. Can Midwives Bridge the Gap?”

A few days later, Kaethe shared this NPR piece: “Education Usually Improves Health. But Racism Sabotages Benefits For Black Men.”

Amy celebrated colleague Celeste Monforton's publication of a new (and recommended) read, “On the Job: The Untold Story of Worker Centers and the New Fight for Wages, Dignity, and Health.” Congratulations, Celeste!

Del wanted to highlight the Johns Hopkins Graduate Summer Courses in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.  

Weekly Win: How do we reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy? Lots of great articles in the last month have celebrated effective strategies to build connection spread good information. The New York Times piece, “Your Friend Doesn’t Want the Vaccine. What Do You Say?” has an interactive choose-your-own-adventures quality and presents useful phrasing and explanations on why each phrase is recommended. NPR's “How A U.K. Imam Countered Vaccine Hesitancy And Helped Thousands Get The 'Jab'” highlights the important role of community religious leaders. MCN is here to help you in your work with your community! Many of our customizable resources on the vaccine including the #YoMeLaPuse campaign are available at https://www.migrantclinician.org/COVID-19-pandemic.

Have a safe and healthy weekend!

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