GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — A Grand Rapids mom hopes to raise awareness about the unique struggles racial and ethnic minorities face through an organization she founded in her son’s honor.

“We want them to value life, their lives,” says Jamie Dalton, licensed Master Social Worker. “Often when you see dark, you can’t see past it.”

Dalton is the founder of “I Matter, We Matter,” a Grand Rapids mental health organization that provides free mental health care to people living in the zip code 49507.

She formed the group after her oldest child, Jodeci, 26, died of depression in 2019 by suicide.

According to Dalton, Jodeci cared deeply about his family and friends. He ran a semi truck business and helped her start her own practice.

“It was that vision that he saw before me that made this vision that I see before him,” Dalton said. “He is my heart.”

While mental illness can affect anyone, regardless of background, the National Association of Mental Health says racial trauma and ongoing discrimination can trigger and significantly worsen symptoms.

In addition, communities of color have added barriers to mental health care such as cultural stigma, lack of available mental health professionals, and inadequate treatment options in the community.

“Being mental illness within the African American community is a really taboo topic. What happens at home stays at home,” says Dalton.[We’re trying to] let them know it’s okay to have awkward conversations.”

According to the American Psychiatric Association, only one in three African Americans who need mental health care get it.

Compared to whites, African Americans are less likely to receive care that is consistent with guidelines, are less likely to be included in research, and are more likely to use emergency care or primary care physicians or care rather than mental health specialists.

“There is hope, there is help and there is healing. I think that’s the part where people don’t understand,” said DeWana Lancaster, clinical liaison. “They think they are struggling in an area with mental illness. You don’t have to fight alone.”

Statistics from the United States Department of Health and Human Services show that in 2018, the suicide death rate 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 women, grades nine through 12, were 60 percent more likely to commit suicide in 2019 compared to non-Hispanic white women 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 at the organization.

“I read the flyer and I thought, ‘This is what I need right now,’” said Carr. “I Matter, We Matter has definitely helped me and my family.”

I Matter, We Matter meets weekly on Tuesdays from 6-8pm 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 suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 9-8-8.

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