July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. The Steve Fund will debut new content every day right here in this box on our homepage and on social media to raise awareness about the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. Learn more about our activities throughout July here.
Steve Fund Podcast #2
Evan Rose, Dr. Terri Wright
In this Steve Fund Podcast, host and Steve Fund Executive Director Dr. Terri Wright is interviewed by the Fund’s co-founder and president of the board, Evan Rose. The conversation touches on Dr. Wright’s previous experience in mental and public health, and on why she is passionate about supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. Evan Rose talks about why his family started the Steve Fund.
Please click the red play button below to listen to the Steve Fund Podcast.
Take a look at the Steve Fund’s first Twitter ChatAs part of its celebration of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the Steve Fund organized its first Twitter Chat. Click the link below to see excerpts from it.
Meet the Steve Fund’s team: Deidra Dain, Senior Advisor for Programs
“In my role as Senior Advisor for Programs, I serve the Steve Fund in a variety of ways, starting with designing programs and services that deliver useful information and tools backed by research and evidence. I also help identify and develop partnerships with higher education and nonprofit organizations which serve high school and college students of color who are preparing for and entering college, proceeding through college, and transitioning to careers.”
Click here to read the full profile.
The Challenge of Moving on from College for the Young Person of Color
Transitions are difficult. Four years ago at this time, I had just graduated high school and was preparing for the next four years of my life in college. By preparing, I mean frantically looking up my future roommates on Facebook, perusing class options and extracurriculars I could be interested in, and eagerly counting down the days until I would be living “on my own.” College was this beautiful and magical place that I had worked so hard to reach, and now it was here, and I was going to have full reign to make it mine.
Click here to read the complete blog post by Alexandra Williams.
How you can volunteer for the Steve FundThank you for being a part of our community! This July for Minority Mental Health Month, we encourage you to get involved in raising awareness and promoting the emotional well-being of students of color. Check out this list for volunteer ideas, ranging from volunteering as a crisis counselor to participating in our upcoming Twitter chat.
Meet the Steve Fund’s team: Stephen Berkemeier, Social Media Consultant
“I’ve been with the Steve Fund for two years, and during that time I’ve had a number of different titles and responsibilities. Currently, I work as The Steve Fund’s social media consultant. I work with other team members to brainstorm and execute ideas for reaching out to our followers across our various social media accounts. I first heard of the Steve fund through an email that was forwarded to me by a mentor of mine.”
Click here to read the full profile.
Listen to the inaugural Steve Fund Podcast, watch three exclusive expert videos, and read the Steve Fund’s daily coping tip.
Steve Fund Podcast #1
Alex Wiliams, Stephen Berkemeier, Dr. Terri Wright
In this inaugural podcast, host and Steve Fund Executive Director Dr. Terri Wright talks with two students of color, Alex Williams, and Stephen Berkemeier, about their experience in regard to mental health on campus. Stephen Berkemeier leads social media outreach for the Steve Fund. Until recently, he was a Senior at the University of Michigan, majoring in psychology. He is passionate about mental health research and has been a member of the Gender and Health Research Lab and the University of Michigan school of social work for nearly three years. Alexandra Williams was until recently a senior at Yale University majoring in political science with a concentration in urban studies. She serves as the National Youth Adviser of the Steve Fund and oversees the development and activities of the Youth Advisory Board and directs other youth engagement initiatives.
Please click the red play button below to listen to the Steve Fund Podcast.
Exclusive Steve Fund expert interviews
Jeanne Manese, PhD, is the Director of the Counseling Center at the University of California, Irvine.
Andres Pumariega, MD, is Chairman and Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Cooper University Hospital and Health System and professor at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.
Sean Joe, PhD, MSW, is the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development, and the Director of the Race and Opportunity Lab, at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Emelyn de la Peña, EdD, is Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) at Washington University in St. Louis.
Ebony McGee, PhD, is assistant professor of diversity and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.
Dr. Sharma is Associate Professor and Diversity Concentration Coordinator at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology (ISPP).
Daily Coping Tip
Please click the Facebook or Twitter button below to share this page with friends, or simply ask them to visit stevefund.org. Read additional coping tips and more of our special coverage of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month here.
The Steve Fund is dedicated to the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color.
Right at this moment, there are students of color who are failing academically, suffering emotionally and/OR in some cases are facing serious risk, because population-specific factors influencing mental health are too poorly understood and not acted upon. We are taking action.
The Steve Fund and The Jed Foundation have partnered to create the Equal Chance at Mental Health Framework with evidence-based expert recommendations for America’s colleges and universities to better support the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. It will be released in early 2017.
Are you a young person of color? Feeling down, stressed or overwhelmed? Text STEVE to 741741 and a live, trained Crisis Counselor will receive the text and respond to you quickly to provide support. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool moment.
The new Steve Fund Knowledge Center is a resource for expert information about the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color. It contains videos of presentations, panels and interviews with experts, white papers, Webinars and more.
We are proud and excited to announce the formation of the Steve Fund Youth Advisory Board. The Steve Fund Youth Advisory Board was formed after a nation-wide recruitment process. This group of young students will support all of the Steve Fund’s programs, initiatives, and outreach efforts.
For Immediate Release: September 15, 2020 Contact: Courtney Holsworth, cholsworth@rabengroup.com, (989) 572-8162 The Steve Fund Crisis Response Task Force Releases Recommendations for Higher Education Institutions and Employers on Promoting Mental more »
9/18: Live Streamed Event: Transitioning to College Mental Health and Wellness for Students of Color: Transitioning to College Presented in partnership with The Steve Fund and jointly with HuffPost Noon-1pm more »
Co-hosted by Mental Health America and The Steve Fund: The Mental Health Month 2019 theme builds upon our 2018 focus of #4Mind4Body and will address how our lifestyles impact our physical and mental health.
On the eve of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) launched an Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health to bring attention to the more »
The Steve Fund and Harvard University led participants in a day-long convening (4/16/19) with leading researchers, practitioners, administrators, faculty and students who came together to understand the mental and emotional more »
SEO Scholars excited to partner
“Given our mission of enabling young people from underserved and underrepresented communities to maximize their opportunities for college and career success, SEO Scholars is excited to partner with The Steve Fund on providing critical educational content related to the mental health and emotional well-being of our College Scholars. SEO Scholars is a free eight-year academic program that gets low-income public high school students to and through college with a 95% college completion rate.”
William A. Goodloe, President & CEO, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO)
We look forward to our work with the Steve Fund
“As an organization focused on equipping high achieving men and women of color with the skills, coaching and connections they need to lead organizations and communities worldwide, we look forward to our work with the Steve Fund as we add best practices in mental health and emotional well-being to our programs’ curricula. It’s an important addition that will help maximize our impact on the lives of the young diverse people we serve.”
John Rice, CEO, Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)
The NAACP is grateful to the Steve Fund
“The NAACP is grateful to the Steve Fund for introducing critical mental health knowledge and best practices through presentations in front of thousands of young people at the NAACP’s Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). We consider this a critical addition to this leading achievement program targeted at African American high school students.”
Larry Brown, Jr., ACT-SO National Director
Stephen “Steve” C. Rose
Our nation is not meeting the mental health needs of young people of color. While research shows that the differences in ethnic backgrounds of students necessitate culturally sensitive approaches to supporting their mental health, their needs are still significantly understudied, and insufficiently understood. With minorities forming the majority of Americans by 2044, and the majority of children by 2020, the future success of our nation will depend on the mental health and emotional well-being of these young people.
