Andrea Shorter, a longtime Commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco, did a "Spotlight on the Ma'at Program: An Afrocentric LGBTQ Mental Health Revolution" for the San Francisco Bay Times on August 26, 2021.
Spotlight on the Ma’at Program: An Afrocentric LGBTQ Mental Health Revolution
Mental health awareness is important every day. While there are mental health services in San Francisco for those living in the margins, there is a clear lack of support and resources for assisting the Black community from within the community. Dr. April Silas, Executive Director of the Homeless Children's Network (HCN), saw this need and developed the Ma’at Program in June of 2018. As she describes, "We don’t begin our work from any established system of thought that's consistent with white supremacy or all of the institutionally established ways of viewing families in the Black community as less than. We start from an interpersonal love and authentic relationship. We start as part of the community."
The Ma'at Program highlights Black therapists providing Afrocentric mental health services to the Black community throughout San Francisco. Not only does it aim to improve behavioral health outcomes for Black/African American individuals and families in San Francisco, but it also addresses the historical legacy of intergenerational racism, inequity, and trauma within the community.
Thank you to Andrea Shorter and the San Francisco Bay Times for putting a spotlight on this revolutionary program!