Without commitment to and engagement of antiracist practices, policies & procedures, individuals and communities with racialized, minoritized and intersecting identities will continue to experience predictable and disproportionate harm. From a systemic and institutional perspective, organizations are uniquely positioned to intentionally take steps towards undoing the impacts of racism, to deconstruct norms of employment, to equitably re-allocate resources. 

The Oregon Health Authority recently released data regarding the demographic breakdown of Oregon’s mental health providers, showing that “among behavioral health providers, people of color comprise 13% of licensed behavioral health providers (compared with 24% in the population)”; of that, only one percent of Oregon’s mental health providers are Black/African American (as cited in The Diversity of Oregon’s Licensed Healthcare Workforce, OHA, 2021).

Without a systemic approach, predictable and inequitable health outcomes within and between racial groups will persist. Sankofa Counseling LLC was founded to provide a grassroots response to the mental health inequities impacting Oregon’s Black/African American community.

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Venmo: SankofaCounseling

Mailing Address: PO Box 20127, Portland, OR 97294