The Steve Fund Knowledge Center is a resource for expert information about the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color.
White papers
Expert presentations
Webinars
Interviews
Recently added to the Steve Fund Knowledge Center :
Young, Gifted & @Risk 2018 at UT Austin, Conference Sessions
Webinars for Families of Students of Color:
Part 1: “Family Help In Coping with Stress Fosters Success of Students of Color”
Part 2: “What to Do? Parental Support for College Students in Distress”
Part 3: “Home for the Holidays. Supporting your Student through Transitions”
Knowledge Center Contents
A Review and Call to Action
Vanessa V. Volpe, M.A.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
ABSTRACT
With the combined increased mental health needs of today’s college students and more students of color attending college than ever before, the mental health thriving of college students of color remains a key issue for researchers and practitioners. While college may be a stressful time for many individuals regardless of their racial/ethnic background, students of color often face additional unique risks to their mental health thriving during college. Therefore, the aim of the present paper is twofold: 1) to survey what is known both about the mental health challenges and strengths of college students of color, and 2) to provide new directions and recommendations for treatment professionals, college personnel, and institutions in supporting the mental health thriving of college students of color.
This work was supported by the Steve Fund to foster research on the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color.
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By Dr. Annelle B. Primm, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Expert, The Steve Fund
Often when young people of color move on to college, there are significant changes not only in their lives, but in the lives of their parents as well. While they navigate new territories, parents and other family members must navigate new ways to assist them in their journey. Having knowledge and strategies to be informed and to assist this exciting but sometimes challenging phase in young people’s lives can make a fundamental difference in this experience.
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ABSTRACT
The Steve Fund’s Fifth Annual Young, Gifted & @Risk conference attracted over 350 attendees from across Texas and the nation. This report provides an in-depth review of the conference proceedings, illustrating how the event helped attendees to build awareness, knowledge, and action to promote the mental, social, and emotional health and well-being of young people of color. college and non-profit leaders, students, faculty, administrators, and family and community members. The 2018 convening focused on college students of color and mental health, moving towards inclusion and belonging in a polarized world.
The event included 39 speakers across three plenary and eight breakout sessions held at the LBJ Auditorium and Thompson Conference Center at UT Austin.
ABSTRACT
This annual conference is a signature event of the Steve Fund which addresses its goal of building awareness, knowledge, and action to promote the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people of color. It was attended by college and non-profit leaders, students, faculty, administrators, and family and community members. The focus of the 2017 convening was how cultural identity and belonging play into mental health and emotional well-being for students of color. The event was held in Houston Hall, America’s first student union center.
The meeting consisted of two plenary panels as well as breakout group discussions. The conference included the first public presentation of the Equity in Mental Health Framework (developed in partnership between the Steve Fund and the JED Foundation), a set of 10 actionable recommendations to help colleges and universities support and enhance the mental health of students of color.
This document is a summary of the highlights from the Young, Gifted & @ Risk symposium at the University of Pennsylvania. We hope that the knowledge shared at this conference is a useful source of support and guidance for all.
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By Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, Ph.D., MHSc. Senior Advisor, The Steve Fund
ABSTRACT
Young, Gifted & @ Risk 2016 at Washington University was led by Dr. Sean Joe, Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at Washington University and Dr. Annelle Primm, Senior Medical Advisor to the Steve Fund. This is the third in a series of annual conferences developed by The Steve Fund and launched at Brown University in 2014 by the Steve Fund and Professor Tricia Rose, Chancellor’s Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Center for Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University. Professor Rose created the fitting name of the conference series, “Young, Gifted, &@Risk.” The focus of the 2016 convening was to illuminate the mental health and emotional well-being challenges of college students of color and to increase awareness of mental health, mental illness and emotional well-being in this population. This focus is closely aligned with two of the Steve Fund’s core pillars, “Building Knowledge and Thought Leadership” and “Promoting Awareness and Dialogue.” Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work, BJC HealthCare, the Center for Social Development, Missouri Foundation for Health, the Race and Opportunity Lab, and the Washington University School of Medicine supported the meeting. Notably, the Brown School of Social Work is a leader in the study of mental illness and social justice for diverse populations. Specifically, it is recognized for substantial contributions to racial diversity in health, education, community and student achievement. Meeting attendees traveled from local, regional and national destinations to attend this meeting and they received a plethora of information regarding current research in college student mental health and culturally-relevant strategies for supporting student success.
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By Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, Ph.D., MHSc. Senior Advisor, The Steve Fund
ABSTRACT
On November 20, 2015, the Steve Fund, a non-profit organization founded to raise awareness and efforts to address the mental health and well-being of young people of color, organized a full day symposium at Stanford University, “Young Gifted & @ Risk”.
The Stanford symposium is the second in a series created to honor the legacy of Stephen C. Rose, a beloved son of the Bell Rose family, whose life ended prematurely due to mental illness in January of 2014. The sym- posium was the second in a series focused on illuminating the challenges of young people of color on college campuses and on increasing awareness of mental and emotional well-being in African-American and diverse young people. A unique aspect of the Steve Fund’s work reflects a particular interest in diverse students at competitive academic institutions in the U.S. The meeting focus was aligned with two of the Fund’s core pillars namely, “Building Knowledge and Thought Leadership” and “Promoting Awareness and Dialogue” in mental health. Stanford University’s School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Comparative Stud- ies of Race and Ethnicity, and Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) co-sponsored the meeting. Collectively, they are noted for substantial contributions to racial diversity in education, health and well-being.
DownloadMarginality, Belonging, and Success: The University Experience and the Mental Health of Students and Emerging Adults of Color (Young, Gifted, & @Risk, Stanford University, 2015)
The presentations in the videos below were made as part of a panel at the 2015 Young, Gifted, & @Risk Conference, organized by the Steve Fund and Stanford University.
The university environment, quality of the university experience, and the “feel” of the campus community can have sizable effects on the mental well-being of young people of color. Speakers in this panel addressed the forces at play within the university environment, the scope and scale of the challenges they present, and their impact on the adjustment and overall success of aspiring young people of color during their college years and early adulthood. The experts compare the distinctive mental health challenges of the college years and environment to those of other life stages and settings. Experiences of marginality and belonging and how they contribute to overall well-being of students of color were also examined.
By: Teresa LaFromboise, Ph.D., Professor of Education. Stanford University.
How Culture, Mindset, and Identity Shape and Affect Mental Health Among Young Adults (Young, Gifted, & @Risk , Stanford University, 2015)
The presentations were made as part of a panel at the 2015 Young, Gifted, & @Risk Conference, organized by the Steve Fund and Stanford University.
The focus was cutting-edge research in affective science and social psychology that demonstrates the ways in which our cultures, subjective mindsets, and identities shape young people’s emotions, feeling states, and experiences of mental health and well- being. Cultural differences in how we ideally want to feel, as well as what we want to avoid feeling, can powerfully shape young people’s emotional experiences and responses as well as psychological health. Likewise, changes in our subjective mindsets, or the lenses through which we perceive and interpret our experiences, can shape how young people experience and respond to emotional states—for example, viewing stress as something that either enhances or debilitates your performance, i.e., your “stress mindset,” can influence one’s behavioral responses to and physiological experiences of stress. Implications for supporting the psychological and emotional health of young adults and young adults of color in elite college environments are discussed.
Promising Strategies for Mental Health on Campus and Beyond for Young People of Color (Young, Gifted and @Risk, Stanford University, 2015)
The presentations in the videos below were made as part of a panel at the 2015 Young, Gifted, & @Risk Conference, organized by the Steve Fund and Stanford University.
The presentations address the unique obstacles to mental health literacy and help-seeking among young people of color on campus, and the need for engagement by college leaders, peers, families, communities, and other key stakeholders in promoting their health and well-being. The panel also discusses key elements of current approaches and practices aimed at helping young people of color overcome mental health challenges in university settings and beyond, sharing key learnings and implications for next steps. The presentations highlight innovative mental health programming, and offer suggestions for addressing the mental health crisis moving forward. The impact of tensions and events in the broader society upon the emotional well- being of college students of color is also examined.
By: Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Ph.D., Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California-Berkeley
Interviews with experts at the Steve Fund’s “Young, Gifted, & @Risk” conference, Stanford University, 2015
The interviews in the videos below were made as part of the “Young, Gifted, & @Risk” Conference, organized by the Steve Fund and Stanford University. For more information about the conference, please click here.
This presentation was made possible through support by the Steve Fund.
Research on the history of mental health services and policies for African Americans is the subject of a Steve Fund-sponsored presentation below, by Dr. King Davis from the University of Texas at Austin. It was given at the Black Solidarity Conference at Yale University, on February 12, 2016. The presentation describes a long-term research project for preserving, sharing, and analyzing the historic public records from the Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane (CLACI) in Petersburg, Virginia.
Maintaining wellness for Students of Color in Racially and Academically Stressful Environments (Empowered Minds Program, Harvard University, 2015)
The presentations below were made during a lunch-and-learn event organized by the Steve Fund at Harvard University in 2015.
The quality of the university experience, environment, and community can have sizable effects on the mental well-being of young people of color. Research indicates that the quality of students’ interpersonal experiences in the university setting is impacted by institutional commitment to fostering a welcoming environment, student interactions with peers, professors and administrators and the positive sense of belonging arising from these factors. This panel discussion addresses the forces at play in the university environment, the scope and scale of the challenges they present, and their impact on the mental well-being and overall success of high-aspiring young people of color during their college years and early adulthood. Experts compare the distinctive mental health challenges of the college years and environment to those in other settings. The panel also explores the strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches and practices aimed at helping young people overcome mental health challenges in university settings and beyond. The experts address the unique obstacles to mental health literacy and help-seeking among young people of color, as well as the need for broader engagement with peers, families, communities, and other key stakeholders in promoting their health and well-being.
Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Senior Scientific Advisor to The Steve Fund addresses mental health disparities in students of color and intrdocues the Equity in Mental Health Framework for attendees of the 2018 New England College Health Association (NECHA) conferenc in Portland, Maine.
Webinars for Families of Students of Color
Webinars about the Equity in Mental Health Framework
An introduction by Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Ph.D., MHSc.
An introduction by Dr. Kevin Cokley
By Dr. Daphne Holt, MD, PhD
Our Mission: Promoting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color
