Understanding Cultural Inequalities for Mental Health Peer Specialists

Cultural inequalities exist in all aspects of society ranging from lack of access to quality education, housing, mental health care, and employment to the overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system. There is a need for mental health peer specialists to understand how cultural inequalities affect individuals living with mental illness and lead to higher rates of incarceration. This presentation will focus on cultural inequalities, individual human rights, and how these topics intersect from the perspective of mental health peer specialists. This webinar will discuss strategies that are being used in Arlington County, VA. Participants will learn how to help peer clients understand cultural inequalities and how to navigate the mental health and criminal justice systems by understanding their rights and using self-advocacy. Learning Objectives: - Learn how cultural inequalities affect individual’s access to services that promote recovery and how mental health peer specialists can help increase access. - Learn how cultural inequalities affect interactions with the criminal justice system and incarceration. - Gain knowledge on how to educate peer clients, who are at risk for entering the criminal justice system or currently incarcerated, in using self-advocacy to enhance mental health outcomes.