Community Perspectives: Focus Group Findings on Mental Health

ABSTRACT
The first week of October is Mental Illness Awareness Week, providing an opportunity to educate the public, fight stigma, advocate for equal care, and provide support for individuals and families affected by mental illness.

This week the Academy is pleased to release its latest report, “Community Perspectives: Focus Group Findings on Mental Health.” The report shares findings from focus groups conducted by the Academy on behalf of the New York City Population Health Improvement Program in partnership with community-based organizations and mental health service providers in all five boroughs. In highlighting the experiences of diverse New Yorkers, from the general population and from those with a diagnosed disorder, it provides further documentation of the influence of social and economic factors, as well as individual life experiences, on mental health. These findings highlight how poverty and inequity can compound and exacerbate poor mental health.