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Mental Health Justice and Equity Campaign

Ensuring children and families of color have good mental, physical, and social supports

4 Black women and three Latina women pose for a group picture with "Shining a Light" booklets

The goal of the Mental Health Justice and Equity Campaign is to eliminate health disparities for children and families of color in Illinois.

As parents worked to eliminate punitive school discipline practices in Chicago public elementary students through the Justicia elemental Campaign, they began to see that children denied recess or other breaks for physical activity during the day were more likely to act out in class, detracting from their learning. Upon more research, they discovered that, in 2005, 82% of Chicago elementary schools didn’t have recess at all. Furthermore, the schools without recess were primarily located in challenged communities where mostly families of color lived and where childhood obesity was also an issue.

Parents prioritized bringing recess to elementary schools and launched their campaign as ¡Receso para todos! After years of organizing and advocacy, they won the return of recess for all 266,000 Chicago public elementary students in 2012! Later, parents expanded the victory to the whole state of Illinois in 2021!

Parent leaders have gone on to work on a range of other health-related concerns, including food quality issues in schools, and food insecurity, environmental issues in the schools and the effects of trauma on children and families’ mental health. ¡Receso para todos! evolved into the Salud, Alimentación y Recreo Campaign, and most recently changed to the Mental Health Justice and Equity Campaign to reflect parents growing interest in changing and improving the mental health system. (See Saliendo de la pobreza Campaign for our work around addressing food insecurity and food deserts.)

POWER-PAC IL is The COFI Way in action.

2024: POWER-PAC IL leaders release “Shining a Light: How Parent-Led Solutions Can Heal Our Communities and Address Trauma,” a report and parent-led campaign to change and improve the mental health system. Parents launch “Community Healer” demonstrations in Chicago and Aurora/Kane County to show policymakers that free, peer-based, parent-to-parent mental health programming and similar programs can support parent and family well-being.

2023: Senate Bill 646 is signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker, establishing the Healing Centered Task Force to be led by Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. Lt. Governor Stratton later appointed POWER-PAC IL Leaders Mamie Cosey from East St. Louis and Rosalia Salgado from Chicago to the task force.

2022: Los padres se involucran en investigaciones participativas sobre la salud mental y el trauma de la madre y el niño, manteniendo más de 1000 conversaciones con las familias sobre sus desafíos de salud mental, cómo los enfrentan y qué cambios recomiendan.

2021: Los padres celebran la firma de la legislación que exige 30 minutos de receso para todo niños de escuela primaria de Illinois y prohíbe la suspensión del recreo como castigo.

2015: Gracias a la defensa de los padres, se firma la legislación que amplía los beneficios de SNAP (cupones de alimentos) a 40,000 familias de Illinois.

2013: Los padres combinan fuerzas con Greater Chicago Food Depository y Illinois No Kid Hungry Campaign para terminar con la inseguridad alimentaria de las familias de bajos ingresos, yendo de puerta en puerta para informar a las comunidades sobre los sitios de comidas gratuitas de verano.

2012: ¡Las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago restablecen el recreo para los más de 266,000 estudiantes de primaria!

2011: El gobernador nombra a un padre de POWER-PAC para el recién creado Grupo de trabajo de receso estatal, que recomienda restablecer el receso en todo Illinois.

2005-2007: POWER-PAC inaugura el ¡Receso para todos! campaña con una conferencia de prensa de teatro callejero en 2005. Para 2007, los padres identifican aliados legislativos y presentan un proyecto de ley para ordenar el receso en todo el estado. POWER-PAC traerá a 100 padres y niños a Springfield para presionar a sus legisladores y testificar en audiencias legislativas.

A Latina woman holds a sign that reads Healthcare for all

Recomendaciones

  • “Shining a Light” recommendations:
    • Peer support and parent-to-parent must be part of the mental health infrastructure.
    • Sensible reforms of Medicaid to make mental healthcare more accessible and affordable
    • Expanding community sports and arts programming to keep kids and parents healthy
    • Supporting and investing in community mental health services, especially on the West and South Sides of Chicago and East St. Louis
    • Making sure everyone involved in education, government and healthcare systems has a healing-centered framework, not just formally trained professionals
  • Restablecer el recreo y los descansos, incluida más educación física en los días escolares.
  • Cree aliados en la comunidad de salud infantil, especialmente entre aquellos que trabajan para abordar la obesidad infantil.
  • Asegurar activamente la implementación del receso.
  • Involucrarse en otros temas de justicia de la salud, incluido el acceso a alimentos saludables, entornos escolares mejorados, acabar con la inseguridad alimentaria, desayuno universal y accesibilidad para peatones en la comunidad.
  • Plan de acción para abordar la adversidad infantil en Illinois (POWER-PAC IL recomendaciones informadas como parte de Illinois Adverse Children Experiences (ACES) Collaborative

 

Publicaciones y noticias recientes

    Our communities need services and resources, but most of all, we need policymakers to develop a healing-centered approach, listen to our stories, and team up with parents to implement these [Shining a Light] recommendations.”

    Photo of Katrina Falkner

    Katrina Falkner

    POWER-PAC IL Mental Health Justice and Equity Co-Chair

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