The Behavioral Corner 

Hi, and welcome. I'm Steve Martorano. And this is the Behavioral Corner; you're invited to hang with us, as we've discussed the ways we live today, the choices we make, the things we do, and how they affect our health and wellbeing. So you're on the corner, the Behavioral Corner, please hang around a while. 

Steve Martorano 

Hey, hi, everybody, and welcome to the Behavioral Corner. I'm your friend and the host guide here, Steve Martorano, what we do is we had, I thought, finally found something I'm relatively good at. And that's hanging on the street corner, meeting interesting people. That's what the Behavioral Corner is all about. It is underwritten by our partners Retreat Behavioral Health, we rely upon them for a lot of insight and guidance when we when we do the Corner. And that's certainly going to be the case today with one of their people from their New Haven facility. So we thank them for that. You know, before we get started, and I introduce our two guests, we have the tendency as a society to focus on one thing at a time. It's just simple enough, it's the things big enough takes all of our attention. This year, there is an opioid crisis that's justifiably got our attention. Now, of course, you know, there's the mother of all attention grabbers and that's COVID-19. So we have a pandemic, that attracts all of the attention and all of the media and all of our concerns. It's understandable. But sometimes what happens is that our attention is obviously diverted away from other problems, and never more so than when it comes to mental health. There is now and has been, for some time, a flat out crisis in mental health in this society that touches on all those other areas. And nowhere is that crisis more vividly obvious than in minority communities. For a whole lot of reasons that shouldn't be surprising to anybody. But we're going to take a deep look at what those racial disparities kind of impact they're having in mental health, as a disease and mental health care as a system and the program today and ask the question, why? Why is it still going on and what's being done to make it better. To that end, we welcome a great friend of this program, someone I met a couple of years ago, up in New Haven, Jackie James. Jackie James is Director of Public Relations for Retreat Behavioral Health in the southern Connecticut in New Haven. She has had a lifetime involvement in the public service in her community in New Haven in a multitude of areas, both in the private and the public sector. Let Jackie bring you up to date on that. He's done us a great good favor by introducing us to a new friend in the Behavioral Corner. The Germano Kimbro joins us he also has spent the better part of his adult life with as a community act. This is a great phrase that I've always loved "He is a change agent." He's been involved in at the grassroots level in many of the areas we're going to talk about today, most recently, through something called the Ministerial Health Fellowship Advocacy Coalition spearheading a COVID-19 crisis program that he's a counselor in right now. I want to thank you and welcome Jackie, and Germano to the show. Whew. I'm out of breath. Okay. I'm out of breath. Women. Let me let me drink some of my orange soda that I got from the store. Hi, Jackie, how are you? Good to see you again.

Jackie James 

I'm doing well. Thank you. I am doing well, despite...

Steve Martorano 

Despite. Yeah, I know, I know. Remember when the statement "How you doing?" was was a sort of rhetorical question. Now you gotta stop. Let the other person answer. Right? So Jackie, let me let me see if I got my definitions. Right. There's a mental health crisis in this country, correct?

Jackie James 

Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. And we've had a mental health crisis for many years for decades. But I think COVID has kind of lent itself to just exhausting, you know, the mental health crisis to some extent.

Steve Martorano 

Yeah, this disease, in addition to everything else it has done has made everything else worse and magnified the problem that we mentioned. I know, Germano has done work in the field of substance abuse and overdoses and everything. COVID has had a devastating effect on that aspect of the community. Correct?

Germano Kimbro 

Without a doubt. I mean, it's interesting, there was just a presentation this morning where they said that on substance abuse and mental health has increased from 32 to 53%. So any anything that was underlying has really come to the surface. And so we had the average, you know, coworker and colleague that just was managing, you know, stress on a regular basis is now you know, find themselves In a pandemic fatigue, you know, and so it's typical of what's happened in 9/11 and anthrax and other kinds of disasters that happened around the country,

The Behavioral Corner 

We said we were going to take a look at the disparities in the mental health system in minority communities because it's important. And it's always both depressing and sobering, that whenever we talk about a problem that affects the entire society, we have to make note that it is affecting certain segments of the population, much, much deeper, and much more profoundly, for a lot of reasons. The disparities that I've been reading about are pretty well documented. Can I begin with a couple of your tell me if I'm hitting the right notes here, first and foremost, and either one of you both of you can answer. There's just a simple lack of access in those minority communities. Correct?

Jackie James 

There's a lack of access but I still think there's a issue with regards to institutional structural racism. I think that people of color are disproportionately on the frontlines, right. So there's a lot of inequalities that's just not being taken into account, when it comes to addressing some of these issues with regards to mental health and COVID. Right? I think that's the reality and I think some of those realities are really not being talked about or addressed.

Steve Martorano 

Yeah, Germano, what's your experience in the streets and everything? I mean, look, where I come from, I got a minute clinic minute away, I got my doctor who I pick up the phone, I mean, I got a lot of access. It's not always the case in the neighborhood you go to right?

Germano Kimbro 

Well, I think that, you know, effects have been insidious. So we're already in an epidemic of with an opioid crisis, you know, throughout America. And I think like, you know, Malcolm said, you know, "When America gets a cold, you know, black America gets the flu." We have become accustomed to, you know, dealing with adversity. And so, I don't think that people really took the pandemic as seriously as they should, you know, for whatever reason, minority and people that have been affected by poverty, you know, have been accustomed to just doing the next best thing, you know, in terms of survival. It's just unfortunate that, like Jackie mentioned, you know, just systemically and institutionally, they're just some pieces that are not in place prior to this. And so it's like the perfect storm. I mean, these issues are compounded when you take the issues of poverty, that face, you know, black America, and then you put an epidemic on top of it, and then a pandemic, you know, it's almost like the perfect storm. And so there's no question why, you know, we're dying at higher rates and not getting vaccinated and hesitancy you know, coming out of a political era that we just came out of, I think that just, you know, it's just a real rough time. And so when I'm out there, because I have a relationship with the community, because they've seen me, you know, kind of progress through many stages of, of life, you know, I become a trusted messenger. And so I don't convince it, try to sell anybody one way or another whether or not to take the vaccination was not to wear a mask, is it the best information and let them make their own decisions, and it is tough is uphill battle. And, you know, they have the same needs that they had prior to the pandemic, you know, it does become a tough sell. . We're working through the houses of faith. And I think that was one of the reasons that, you know, the Ministry of Health Fellowship has been so successful, because, you know, the church has been kind of the backbone and the cornerstone and the foundation of, you know, the black community. And so, they have been pushing to make sure that, you know, we have, you know, greater access. They've been doing a phenomenal job, and they've been able to turn some of the churches into clinics, and elders, up until this point have been, you know, more willing to come into the church for a vaccination as opposed to a site.

Steve Martorano 

Is it Henry Louis Gates and Lewis Henry Gates, I forget. He's doing a PBS special one on the history of the black church, which is a it's going to be worth watching. They, I mean, they have always been there and they're there again, let me ask you, with regard you I mean, you grew up in, you both grew up in southern Connecticut, right? You're both from New Haven?

Jackie James 

Yes.

Steve Martorano 

So, you know, I don't have to tell you about the justifiable suspicions that exist in communities like that. When, you know, the larger society says, Hey, you should do this. We need you to do this. In this case, it's you know, mask up and get this vaccination. When you talk to you can inside the community, Germano, are you getting along push back on that? Are they going? Oh, wait, I'm gonna wait, what's going on?

Germano Kimbro 

It's like pulling teeth, you know, even with my own family. You know, I mean, they'll find one reason why one person that failed as to, you know, why not get vaccinated or why you know, this, this virus isn't real. And it's just another thing that, you know, the government has put together to make money is really tough. 

Steve Martorano 

Well, minority folks are not alone in that sort of, you know, golden age of suspicion of the government, but they have a particular bias. Because, you know, the history of things like Tuskegee Experiments, and that may have been 100 years ago, but it's still a real thing. Right? There's suspicious.

Jackie James 

Yes, the suspicions are due to a lot of miseducation and a lack of education. Right. So, and I don't think it's just the black community. I think what we're also finding is that elderly, amongst various racial backgrounds are also suspicious of the government and taking the COVID vaccine.

Steve Martorano 

Right. Yeah, right. I wonder how a philosophical minority communities can be about the fact that they're very often almost always at the end of lines, and not at the head of lines, to suddenly find themselves designated as "essential workers," when this thing hit. That must have been like, really, were essential workers now? Did they roll with that? They just kept doing their jobs. And what was the reaction you were you were seeing from minority communities at the beginning of this pandemic,

Germano Kimbro 

Well, they couldn't afford to take a day off?

The Behavioral Corner 

Exactly.

Jackie James 

You know, they were essential workers. They couldn't afford to take take any day off, right. They had very little benefits, whether it was benefits from their work with regards to taking time off or medical benefits. Right. childcare was a major issue. So it became a situation where everything was just beginning to fall apart in many people's lives. But they were considered essential workers, right. And companies and corporations, got funding to provide some level of assistance and some did not. Right, and they're still considered essential workers.

The Behavioral Corner 

In that vein, let me ask you both that if it's not also true that because everything you just described, that community is less likely to even look to get help.

Jackie James 

So what I've seen and heard and the community where I am from, they have sought help. So I know with black owned businesses, the PPE Loan Program, or grant program has been limited. The care program has been limited, right? providing rental assistance has been limited. And it's been limited because of access. It's been limited, because it's bogged down by red tape. You know, it's difficult, right? So when you have a community that's already suspicious, when you have a community that's already burdened, and leading with a whole lot of other things, then yeah, it becomes a bigger and broader issue.

The Behavioral Corner 

One of the one of the things that we were talking about before we, before we got on the air is among the many things that Germano is about, he's very active in putting fathers back into the equation. In these situations, tell us about your work with low income families and fathers.

Germano Kimbro 

Well, that that work begin around the end of time limited welfare, you know, when we had personal work and responsibility at that Clinton put in place. And so we were trying to find a way to help support whether or not we were being placed on time limits. And so there was no infrastructure, we found out that, you know, poor men and fathers need the same services that poor mothers needed, and that there were men that were engaged yet they didn't participate in the formal child support or social service delivery system, they hadn't begin to receive them. And so being able to carve out pathways to access services for men and fathers became the kind of the the first task. But it's interesting because it was during the time I was doing my undergrad and I actually did a research project on how men access services. And so even though those men and fathers had jobs, they didn't take time off or go to the doctor until their health reached a chronic or acute state. And that, you know, that research also showed that they receive health in three ways. It was actually through the military, emergency room, and jails, you know, and that work was published in the American Medical Journal under the Color of the American Male In Crisis and so that work with follow that was very significant It is one of the things that was probably most noted in New Haven, in terms of black men really stepping up to the plate to meet the emotional, social and financial responsibilities for the children. We actually changed the game, you know, like DCF, now was a major partner. So we had these institutions that weren't talking to each other, or they were looking at men and fathers as a wallet, you know, Department of Social Services, you know, where, you know, they received benefits are they was automatically given child support, even men that were incarcerated, how they were, had these huge arrearages that just kind of crippled them, you know, of their life. And so he's able to develop legislation and, you know, change some policies and get a system actually function, you know, to bring a family together.

Steve Martorano

Give these men not only the means and opportunity to support their family, instead of just as you say, grabbing their wallets. Because because of the money, there's a huge relationship between successful outcomes and minority situations. And having two parents in the household, right?

Germano Kimbro 

Father involvement is one of the most important factors in you know, healthy child development. I mean, it is no doubt in my mind, you need both parents.

Steve Martorano 

You know, as I scan some of the stuff that I've been looking at with with you guys, Germano, One thing stood out, tell me about the Ice House Curriculum. What was that?

Germano Kimbro 

Well, that's Jackie and I partnered. It just happened one of those times when she was the director of Small Business and Economic Development for the city in that pitched her an idea and she bought into it. I told her, I want to do a youth entrepreneurship program, I, you know, the city didn't have enough money for jobs, and I knew that, you know, every kid wasn't gonna be able to job, I knew that, you know, poverty was definitely connected with violence. And if that we can reduce the poverty, you can help reduce the violence and that, you know, kids need to learn to make their own money. And so he was able to partner with a, the state of Small Business and Economic Development. Jackie to chime in. But they came in with the icehouse curriculum. And we was able to put together a youth entrepreneurship program, and was highly successful. In fact, you know, some of the ideas that, you know, the kids developed are implemented in the city now. They were taught how to monetize their ideas, but I was able to also be trained and certified in to take that curriculum and into other social service agencies, you know, around the state, you know, the Urban League in Hartford, and community action agency in New Haven.

Steve Martorano 

Becky, where'd the name come from? What's the ice house?

Jackie James 

So the Ice House motto is basically as an entrepreneur, you know it's a niche business, you build your business based on the need. And there was a gentleman who was in a town and the town needed ice. So he built an ice house, you meet the needs of the community. And that's how you build your business. You don't...we don't need 10 more corner stores or 10 more McDonald's or 10, more packaged stores. But what are the real needs of the community? And how do you again, monetize that idea, and meet the needs of the community as an entrepreneur and as a business owner. 

The Behavioral Corner 

With regard to that Jackie spent more than a little time in the halls of public service, somebody said, If you saw the way laws were made, you know, you'd run away screaming. It's like making sausage or something. So you know, how it works inside there. And you certainly know how it works in the private community. Look, there's not going to be a lot of money sloshing around in this economy. Once we come out from under this pandemic, are we getting the kind of cooperation from the private sector and the political sector to address these problems, these enormous problems?

Jackie James 

I am very hopeful with this current administration, I do think we will begin to see the dollars coming into the community. However, once they get to the community, it is up to us to ensure that they are utilized and go where they are needed. And often you don't see that, right. So I think we need to continue to advocate for resources. And I think we need to continue to communicate our needs, wants and desires with elected officials in regards to what the community needs, what the community wants, and how that is going to work.

The Behavioral Corner 

I'm astonished that there's still an argument over with regard to how big you should go here. It's mind boggling to me that we should see the biggest problem and maybe 100 years and have people advocating that smaller is better than you got a big problem. You go at it big time. Right? So yeah, I hope they do. But you're right. Once the floodgates for money, start trickling down, once they get to the level you guys work at, it's incumbent that you make sure it gets where it's got to go.

Jackie James 

Exactly. It's uncommon that we all ensure that it gets worse.

The Behavioral Corner 

Finally, with regard to the mental health thing on a swing that back to this now Germano, what, what's happening with regard with regard to homelessness in New Haven, it couldn't have gotten any better because of this.

Germano Kimbro 

Unfortunately, New Haven has been a...how can I put it? It's been a, a hub for homelessness. And so we've taken on the lion's share of the state's homeless population, with a number of shelters, and unfortunately, they've closed in so they've been housing him in hotels, and then with the combination of COVID, and substance abuse, you know, I was just drove by one of the warming centers yesterday, and in the AMA lamps were just rolling in, because people that we had three deaths yesterday, you know, that happened, right in the hotels, and, you know, it's an all time high, you know, amongst that population. And so, it's tough, you know, and it's, you know, that had the opiate problem that came down from the suburbs. And because New Haven host a lot of homeless population is just really bad.

Steve Martorano 

The other area that impacts homelessness, profoundly, is that mental illness is a huge component as to why some people wind up on the street, we have now serious schizophrenics, who are homeless, and they're on the streets. And among the other disparities that I think has occurred, tell me if I'm wrong, is that there seems to be some wider perception that schizophrenia is now a black disease. You know what I mean?

Germano Kimbro 

I think that, you know, what happens in African American community because mental illness is seen as something that's taboo in some of the earlier medications like Thorazine you know, kind of put people in zombie mode, and so they didn't access, you know, mental health services. And so like I was talking about the disparities and just accessing health, in undergraduate work, when it came to Mental Health Access, it was almost like taboo, and so, again, you know, they don't go in, you know, the mental health is a level of stress and anxiety or even depression. And then by the time that, you know, it comes diagnosis, it's usually acute stage of it to schizophrenia, or, you know, bipolar depression and some, you know, major asset that you leave, requires, you know, heavy duty medication and housekeeping.

Steve Martorano

Well, whenever you tackle something as large as this issue of a mental health crisis, and the disparities racially in that regard, there's never enough time to really do the topic justice. But I do want to thank both of you for the time we have had together, we'll have you back again, real soon. Germano Kimbro and Jackie James, big topic, not a lot of time. But I want to leave people with my impression of what I've just heard. And it's really is encouraging. You guys are hopeful.

Jackie James 

I'm very hopeful.

Germano Kimbro 

I mean, I'm extremely grateful to Retreat, you know, because there are community beds that are available. And so as I do outreach and engagement work, you know, I got somebody that I can pick up the phone and say, you know, I have somebody that needs a bed and you know, Jackie can make that available through Retreat and so that's a start, you know.

Steve Martorano 

Terrific guys, thanks so much and I hope I can call upon you again. Continue your your really valuable work that and catch you next time on the corner okay?

Retreat Behavioral Health

Studies show that 2020 has negatively affected the mental health of millions of Americans. That is why at Retreat, we work to provide comprehensive mental health programming through our Synergy Health Programs. To learn more about Synergy and the comprehensive mental and behavioral health services we offer. Call us today at 855-802-6600.

The Behavioral Corner

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