The i2i Center team used their Collaborative Model to develop ideas and recommendations on ways for the Black or African American community to support members of their community that have Serious Mental Illness. This was accomplished by holding facilitated discovery meetings and collaborative discussions among Black individuals with lived experience as well as leaders in the Black or African American faith community. The insights, ideas and recommendations were compiled and shared with the team that Janssen Neuroscience convened to develop information and tools for Black or African American communities and individuals with lived experience.
This project occurred through the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021. This was a time when the pandemic was still impacting everyone and the increased isolation to reduce the spread of COVID-19 had increased the mental health needs of many. The i2i Center was pleased to partner with Janssen Neuroscience to gather these valued perspectives. All members of discovery meetings and collaboratives were compensated for their time.
The ideas and recommendations that the i2i Center team compiled from the discovery meetings and collaboratives were used to develop the Community Health Equity Alliance (CHEA) and multiple resources, including a North Carolina toolkit, available through the national office of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). The i2i Center team continues their partnership with CHEA to further prioritize equitable mental health care for everyone.