Health Equity Initiatives

We condemn the systemic racism and continued oppression of the Black community. We are an agency that must show up every day to help others and ethically we must work together to dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism embedded in this country.

We understand that this has been a time of tragedy, hurt, anger, frustration and great stress for our staff, our communities, and our clients. We understand that racism, police brutality, and violence deeply impacts the mental health and well-being of those we serve.

Thrive will not tolerate racism in any form within its agency, in our leadership or toward the clients we serve. We stand in solidarity with our Black colleagues, clients, and the entire Black community to fight for equal rights and justice.

Thrive understands that we must continuously commit to:

-Identifying and preventing implicit bias, discrimination, and racism

-Continuing to support skill and talent development within our agency to ensure a diverse leadership team, with representation from a wide range of cultural identities.

-Providing mandatory training to all staff around issues of cultural competency, racism, and microaggressions.

-Increasing transparency around what upper and middle management are doing to educate ourselves and increase cultural competency on an agency level.

-Empowering our clients to provide constructive feedback to our agency

Your voices are important and although we cannot ever fully understand how you feel, we will continue to listen and will stand with you.

Black Lives Matter.

For those that do not identify as a Black American: You may be asking yourself how this relates to you. We are not taking away from the fact that people of all races and creeds face hardship, stress, and challenges. We continue to be here for you. We encourage everyone to open themselves up to learning about racism in our world and how it impacts us all.

Health Equity and Anti-racism Initiatives

Thrive Behavioral Health is committed to consistent improvement and development of recognition of issues of health equity and the impact of social determinants of health. Since June 2020, some of the trainings/initiatives our staff have participated in have included:

Understanding Implicit Bias and Microaggressions (Celeste Malone, PhD, MS)
Multicultural Considerations in Supervision (Celeste Malone, PhD, MS)
Supporting Students who have Immigrated to the US (Emma O’Grady, LCSW-C)
Introduction to Trans Identity (Emily Goode, LGPC)
Addition of Cultural Formulation Interview to Electronic Health Record Form and In-Service on Delivery of the Cultural Formulation Interview
Multilevel Interventions to Reduce Disproportional Disciplinary Actions (Celeste Malone, PhD, MS)
Monthly leadership meetings with Celeste Malone, PhD, MS, to consult regarding quality improvement efforts related to anti-racism and cultural diversity.
Delivery of surveys to staff seeking feedback related to individual experiences at Thrive and the implementation of initiatives based on feedback.
Continuous addition of materials and resources related to anti-racism and cultural competency to a shared folder accessible to all staff.
October 2020: Microaggressions in Regard to Multiple Cultural Identities (Celeste Malone, PhD, MS)
January 2021: Culturally Just and Socially Responsive Clinical Practices (Celeste Malone, PhD, MS)
December 2021: The Risk of Being Yourself: The Ethical Case for Providing Effective Care to LGBTQIA+ Individuals (Lee Wesgate, MBA, MSW, LCSW-C)
May 2022: Live Young Blood: Cultivating Supportive Spaces for Black Boys (Bobby Holmes, LMSW)
September 2022: Exploring Agency Efforts and Barriers to Supporting LGBTQIA+ Clients
October 2022: Harm Reduction in Service (Narcan training)
October 2022: Suicide Risk Screening (with a focus on clinical complexities, need for cultural humility)
November 2022: Review of Culture of Safety and Bravery
December 2022: How to Best Ethically Support Gender Diverse Youth, LGBTQIA+ Children and Their Families (Xanthia Johnson, Urban Playology)
February 2023: Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health, (Liz Ressler, LCSW-C)
March 2023: Considerations for Mental Health Treatment During Ramadan
March 2023: SNAP Gardens to Empower, (Sunshine (Nicole) Sullivan, LMSW)April 2023: BCPS Mind Over Matters Presentation on Stress and Mental Health: Finding What Works for You (for students) by (Lauren Sunnel, LCSW-C)
April 2023: BCPS Mind Over Matters Presentation on Stress and Mental Health: Finding What Works for You (for students) by (Lauren Sunnel, LCSW-C)
April 2023: BCPS Mind Over Matters Presentation on El Bienestar Emocional (Emotional Well_Being) (for caregivers) by (Monica Bonilla, LMSW)
May 2023: Participation in Prince Georges County Mental Health Fair by (Charles Elliott, LCSW-C, Clinic Director, Silver Spring)
May 2023: Mental Health Resource Fair
May 2023: Mental Health Coping Skills and Resources Give Away Kits
June 2023: SNAP Gardens for Empowerment gardening Give Away Kits
June 2023: Baltimore Pride resource table
June 2023: LGBTQIA+ in-service (Alyssa Pravetz, LCSW-C)
July 2023: Disability Pride Month and Clinical Considerations (Deborah Gundry, LCSW-C)
August 2023: Back to School Drive and Fair
September 2023: Hispanic Heritage Month and Clinical Considerations (Monica Bonilla, LMSW)
October 2023: NAMI- All Staff Meeting on Resources in Maryland
November: Thanksgiving Food Drive
December 2023: Toy Drives