Run for mental health

To the editor,

This Sunday April 17 at 11 a.m., Riverdale Mental Health Association (RMHA) will hold its seventh Annual Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies 5K Run/Walk to raise awareness and funds for mental health services in our community. Registration begins at 9 a.m. at The Tortoise and the Hare Statue in Van Cortlandt Park and the race kicks off at 11 a.m. 

In the years that the 5K has taken place, real  progress has been made in speaking openly  about mental health concerns, reducing stigma and promoting access to services.

There is a growing call for a holistic view of health care that integrates behavioral health with other parts of our healthcare system and that reduces barriers to care.  Motivating this push for increased access is the increased awareness of the importance of early intervention in behavioral health as well as for chronic health conditions.  As a provider community, we recognize that healing and recovery  need to take place  within all our communities, as much as in a  clinic or hospital.

That is why this year Bon Secours Healthy Communities Initiative and Riverdale Mental Health Association are working together with community partners to provide outreach services in the Marble Hill Community.  This project relies on the active participation and involvement  of community partners such as St Stephen’s Church and Community Board 8’s Health & Human Services Committee. We seek an even broader collaboration with community partners in the coming year.

As part of this initiative, licensed RMHA therapists  in a community setting such as a house of worship or a community center can be a good point of early intervention for an individual or family who  and a bridge between the community and health systems for individuals who may benefit from additional services.   Accesses to health services in general and behavioral services in particular should be equally available in all the communities of the Bronx and across our City.   We make health part of our culture when not only  healthcare providers  but other community organizations become knowledgeable about the importance of  mental wellbeing and are aware of what services are available in the community that  promote behavioral health. 

Robert Brewster
Riverdale Mental Health Association 

Ian Christner
Healthy Communities Initiative