Theron McInnis

During March, a month designated for the celebration of women’s history, the Steve Fund centers the mental health of young women of color. Women are more likely than men to experience depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. Their vulnerability to these conditions are related to forms of gender bias and misogyny including unequal pay in the workplace, intimate partner abuse, and sexual assault. 

In recent years, women activists of color, most notably Tarana Burke, led the charge to expose the widespread prevalence of sexual abuse of women and support survivors through the #MeToo movement. The Steve Fund sees this type of advocacy and female empowerment as a critical component of women’s mental health.

Four young women celebrities exemplify the connection between empowerment and mental health. Model Quannah Chasinghorse honored her Indigenous roots at the Gilded Glamor-themed 2022 Met Gala. Since the Gilded Age was associated with genocide, displacement, and trauma of Indigenous people, Channah wore jewelry and other adornments that showcased Native pride including eagle feathers, which are symbol of strength and balance of mind, body, and spirit. Megan Thee Stallion, the rapper, who has had her own experiences with trauma, has created an informative mental health website and launched the Joy Is Our Journey tour for Black girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth focused on wellness. Actress and singer Selena Gomez has a mental health platform, Wondermind, and established the Rare Impact Fund which seeks to raise millions for mental health services. Teen gymnast and Gold medalist Sunisa Lee is the first member of Hmong heritage to represent the U.S. at the Olympic games. She overcame anxiety and significant personal trauma and loss during the pandemic to achieve her historic win.

The Steve Fund salutes these young luminaries who amplify women’s empowerment, mental health, and well-being. We hope their agency will inspire you in your version of flourishing while female!

Unapologetically Free

Centering Mental Health on Black College Campuses 

Together with the United Negro College Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Steve Fund is partnering with Black colleges and universities to center mental health for their students, faculty, and administration.

Black colleges serve as safe spaces for Black students, providing a supportive, inclusive environment for students to learn and thrive. In these uncertain times, we renew our focus on mental health on the campuses of Black colleges and universities so that we all can be UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE.

Join a Free Event

For Students
Racial Healing: Creating Space for Wellness Throughout College
Free virtual workshop with Dr. Batsirai Bvunzawabaya
Thursday, February 23, 2023, 6-7 PM EST
Learn more & Register > 

For Students
Reimagining Thriving Communities for Girls and Young Women
Free Virtual Workshop with Tiana Brawley
Thursday, March 16, 2023, 4-5 PM EST
Learn more & Register > 

For Faculty & Staff
My Student is Having a Mental Health Crisis. Now What?
Free virtual workshop with Dr. Jan Collins-Eaglin
Thursday, March 23, 2023, 6-7 PM EST
Learn more & Register > 

For Students, Faculty & Staff
UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE: Student Mental Health Conference
Facilitators: The Steve Fund and the United Negro College Fund
Tuesday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Get Updates > 

For Educators & Leaders
Participate in the Mental Health Community of Action at UNITE 2023
July 17-20, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Georgia
Learn more & Register >

Find Resources

UNAPOLOGETICALLY FREE

Unapologetically Free Tool Kit download 

HBCU Leaders

HBCU Students

UNITE 2023 Summit

Read the Press Release

Unprecedented Initiative UNAPOLOGETICALLY  FREE Centers Mental Health at HBCUs and other Black colleges

Read the Press Release

Unprecedented Initiative UNAPOLOGETICALLY  FREE Centers Mental Health at HBCUs and other Black colleges

Offering customized programs and opportunities to support mental health on Black college campuses 

ATLANTA, GA (Feb. 13, 2023)—Today UNCF (United Negro College Fund), The Steve Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) launched an unprecedented national effort, Unapologetically Free: Centering Mental Health on Black College Campuses.

Unapologetically Free includes a customized set of culturally responsive programs and opportunities to support mental health on Black college campuses, including:

• A series of virtual workshops designed for students, faculty, and staff, starting this month
• A virtual student conference to be held in April
• Sessions in July at UNITE 2023: UNCF Summit for Black Higher Education; and
• A first-of-its-kind mental health research survey focused mental health of Black college students

Programming for the workshops and student conference is led by the Steve Fund, a premier nonprofit promoting mental health and emotional well-being for young people of color.

“HBCUs have always been shelters in the storm for Black students, especially in uncertain times,” said UNCF President and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax. “This initiative offers our entire Black higher education community an opportunity to learn from participating Black colleges while enhancing the practices that make our students free to focus on their well-being.”

Unapologetically Free is designed to respond to a rise in mental health challenges among college students across the country. In 2021, more than 60 percent of college students met the criteria for one or more mental health problems, a jump of nearly 50% since 2013. A survey conducted by UNCF and the Steve Fund last year reported that an overwhelming majority of students, faculty, and staff at HBCUs want to be informed about resources to support mental health on their campuses.

President and CEO of Thurgood Marshall College Fund Dr. Harry L. Williams announced that his organization would support outreach on the effort and said that he hopes the impact of Unapologetically Free will be felt at the nation’s Black colleges and universities and beyond.

“By engaging our partner institutions, we intend to help evolve mental health approaches at HBCUs while helping them lead a national conversation on the mental health needs of Black students in higher education,” Dr. Williams said. “HBCUs have always worked to meet students where they are, and higher education would be well served to learn from their example.”

Evan Rose, president of the board at the Steve Fund, said the initiative had been designed intentionally to amplify the voices, perspectives, and experiences of students on Black college campuses, and to build on the community support that already exists on Black college campuses as they respond to stigma, societal barriers and lack of equitable access to resources and care.

“The Steve Fund’s mental health experts will highlight the ways to further focus on the mental health and emotional well-being of HBCU students,” Rose said. “We are following the lead of Black college student leaders, faculty, and administrators who have stewarded safe, racially affirming higher education spaces for decades.”

UNCF’s leadership on this initiative is spearheaded by its Institute for Capacity Building’s Strategy Development team, which Julian Thompson directs. Since the start of the pandemic, UNCF has coordinated activities to support student engagement, well-being, and sense of belonging, including a national coaching campaign for entering, first-year and stop-out students.

“We seek to activate leaders on Black college campuses, uncover insights and promising practices, and develop innovative strategies that will help further their institutional transformation,” Thompson said. “Through Unapologetically Free, our partners and UNCF can make an even greater impact on student, faculty, and staff mental health at HBCUs and beyond.”

This week, Unapologetically Free will begin to administer a customized Black college module of the Health Minds Study, the longest-standing, most comprehensive research survey on mental health in higher education. Dr. Jaffus Hardrick, president of Florida Memorial University, one of the first HBCUs to promote the study, said HBCUs are coming together as a community to respond to student needs.

“We know our students, many of whom are the first from their families to pursue higher education, confront challenges that can feel overwhelming at times,” Dr. Hardrick said. “Unapologetically Free couldn’t be more timely in offering all HBCUs an opportunity to expand on the tools and practices that make our communities resilient.”

More information on upcoming workshops, conferences, and research efforts can be found at unapologetically-free.org.

About the Partnership

UNCF and the Institute for Capacity Building

UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for minority education. UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building partners with Black higher education institutions to support their transformation and continual innovation—all to propel student success, community advancement, and the fight for educational equity and racial justice. Each year ICB organizes UNITE, the most influential gathering on Black higher education. Learn more at uncficb.org. Join us at uncfunite.org.

The Steve Fund

The Steve Fund’s mission is to promote the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color as they transition from adolescence into higher education, throughout their higher education experience, and as they transition into the workforce so that they can lead healthy lives; attain personal, academic, and career success; and realize their full potential. The Steve Fund’s HBCU Initiative partners with HBCU organizations, students, and colleges to improve mental health by providing customized resources and programs and increasing the capacity of faculty and staff to support the emotional well-being of HBCU students. For more information, visit thestevefund.org.

Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). Publicly-supported HBCUs enroll over 80% of all students attending HBCUs. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. Learn more at tmcf.org 

Find Additional Resources 

for Young People and Families of Color 

• Youth Healing Space
• Young Women & Girls of Color
• Family Corner
• SpeakOnIt! podcast

Support the Steve Fund today. 

The new year allows us to reboot, reset, and renew. Rather than big, bold resolutions as we step into 2023, the Steve Fund suggests pursuing a kinder, gentler January. Each of us can unpack 2022 at our own pace, re-examining what happened and reconsidering the implications going forward for young people of color and our families, educational institutions, and communities. 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released their survey results of the challenges young people of color faced in school during the pandemic. They highlighted the importance of connection as a protective factor against racism. Harmful episodes of Asian hate were reported across the country. Horrific mass shootings occurred in the Black and Latino/a/x communities of Buffalo and Uvalde against a steady drumbeat of everyday violence across the nation. The chilling discovery of burial sites of young Indigenous people at boarding schools revealed a sordid history of abuse. Books by authors of color were banned in some school systems.

In the face of challenges, young people push forward.

Despite these and other disturbing events contributing to psychological distress and other mental health concerns, there have been numerous signs of hope — and young people of color have continued to push ahead. They voted in record numbers with their peers to make their voices heard. Racially diverse groups of young people banded together to protest threats to affirmative action at the Supreme Court. Young people of color with government-backed higher education loans are waiting for student debt relief to become a reality. A young person of color in Florida has become the youngest ever elected to the U.S. Congress at age 25.

Reimagine what you want in 2023

As you reflect on these developments and your journey in 2022, reimagine what you want to do this year. You may re-prioritize what seemed less important last year to the top of your 2023 to-do list. Rekindling relationships and revising strategies may be in order. Some things may need to be let go, so choosing to discard rather than rehash may be the way. Reinvest in your mental health and well-being by utilizing virtual resources geared toward young people of color, including the Steve Fund’s Wellness Circles and Crisis Text Line (TEXT STEVE TO 741741).

Regardless of the direction you choose in 2023, remember, as things unfold, you can always correct, re-route, and proceed. Have a gentle January — and have safe, successful travels on the path forward. And while you’re at it, reclaim your joy!

Dr. Annelle Primm

Senior Medical Director

The Steve Fund