Depressed While Black

07/02/2025

17 years ago, Congress recognized Bebe Moore Campbell for creating National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. The name has changed, but the vision is the same: to center how mental health challenges uniquely impact communities that have faced a history of racial trauma.

Depressed While Black rests on the legacy of Bebe Moore Campbell. We center Black people who face life-threatening depression. Since 2020, we've given over 600 Black Beauty Supply Kits to psychiatric patients, thanks to our partnership with Hairizon.

We could not do this without Mrs. Val and her daughter Joi. They make all-natural products by hand that are specifically designed for African hair textures. With each Black Beauty Supply Kit, we communicate that psychiatric patients are worthy of care.

Learn about why we started Depressed While Black, and the wonderful partnership we have with Hairizon

06/19/2025

On this , we are grateful for our ancestors and elders for sacrificing for the freedom we are fighting for today. At Depressed While Black, we want psychiatric hospitals to feel like our grandmother’s living room. Every psychiatric hospital should be an extension of Black culture and community.

We send our sincere thanks to Monique and the Henderson, NC Phi Zeta Graduate Chapter for donating toiletries and menstrual products for psychiatric patients at Cone Health Behavioral Health! They did a wonderful donation drive that collected hundreds of pads, tampons, and products to help Black folks moisturize their skin. These items are so important to help people feel safe in their bodies.

We heard from staff at multiple hospitals that some facilities give out post pregnancy pads that feel bulky and uncomfortable. We also heard that sometimes patients bleed through hospital issued pads. As a community, we can’t let this happen.

Thank you to the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority for not forgetting our loved ones in psychiatric hospitals! Providing Black-affirming products is a form of justice for our ancestors and elders who were denied Black-affirming care in segregated asylums and state hospitals. Each donated product shows that psychiatric patients are worthy of care.

05/18/2025

Thank you Gate City 180 for inviting us to their Toiletry Giveaway! With the help of Hairizon, we gave out Black affirming care items like shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, and shea butter!

We networked with housing organizations that are interested in using our Hairizon products for their Welcome Home baskets. We hope to increase our support of Black folks with housing insecurity in the upcoming year. More news to come!

04/25/2025

We are excited to announce our partnership with Cone Health Foundation as a Health Equity Grant Partner!

We were recently awarded a grant by the Cone Health Foundation, which invests in community-driven solutions to reduce health inequities in our community.

We are excited to work in collaboration! At Depressed While Black, we will use this grant to launch our Heal at Home program. This new initiative will provide Black-affirming Welcome Home Kits to discharged psychiatric patients and residents entering supportive housing programs. We want to welcome our neighbors back into the community to prevent future hospitalizations. Thank you, Cone Health Foundation, for making this possible!

To learn more about their work, visit: conehealthfoundation.com.

04/15/2025

We delivered our largest order of handmade products!

Today, with your support, we donated gallon containers of all-natural shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, and shea butter for all four units at Cone Health Behavioral Health Hospital!

Black women know what Black women need. We are grateful for the leadership at Cone Health Behavioral Health for letting us donate Black-affirming care items. Many thanks to Kiara, a Cone Health Administrative Assistant, for supporting patients and coordinating our deliveries!

This would not be possible without and our volunteers, who dedicated weeks of labor to make these all-natural products by hand. Joi and Mrs. Val are true partners of Depressed While Black. Thank you for this wonderful labor of love! As a former psychiatric patient, I know these Black-affirming products can heal our bodies and minds.

04/10/2025

Thank you, Ivy beauty for donating over 40 Beauty Kits to teen patients at Duke Children's Hospital!

Patients often request Ivy beauty products like Broadway Lip Gloss and Edge Fixers. Now, we can provide them just in time for Prom Season!

We delivered these items on to bring awareness that psychiatric patients deserve to feel loved and beautiful.

We spoke with Hendi Berrios, the Pediatric Behavioral Services Manager at Duke Children's Hospital, about the impact of Ivy beauty donations: "These are the things that help provide some normalcy in their life and make them feel like they are human beings again."

Thank you to everyone who made this possible:

Ivy beauty, Red by Kiss, Kiss NY Pro, i-ENVY, and RK by KISS - Ruby Kisses for providing makeup and haircare items that make our teens feel as beautiful as they are

Hendi, for the love and care you give to children in psychiatric hospitals

Hairizon for packaging Ivy beauty products with love

Mangnum Company for filming our delivery with the expertise of a (future) Oscar-award-winning cinematographer

03/29/2025

Thank you for listing on your Anxiety is Watching site!! You are going to impact so many people with the life affirming resources you listed.

I remember when I was in the eighth grade and I started getting stomach aches and headaches that made me cry. If I knew that I was having panic attacks, I probably wouldn’t have experienced the trauma of not knowing what was happening to my body.

Everyone has the right to reclaim themselves by creating a safe space for their inner child. You are giving people access to unlock their true power. Thank you for making this possible!

And thank you , another amazing Black-led mental health organization, for letting us know Depressed While Black is on the site!

03/24/2025

Thank you and for inviting me to share my mental health journey in such a safe and loving environment!

I hope my vulnerability expands our collective imagination for Black-centered wellness. I told it all! From my experience with psychedelic medicine to microdosing cannabis oil. I live with , and there’s no medicine for us. I literally had to create my own treatment plan to survive.

was the family reunion I needed. I’m just now realizing that community is mental health treatment. Thank you to every attendee who came. I saw you listen with care and witness reflections of yourself in my story. I want you to have everything you need to thrive. And I look forward to supporting mental health orgs like and ***detoo to make this happen.

I send all my love and gratitude to the Black wellness community in Boston. I can’t wait to see you again.

03/13/2025

Not having enough food is a mental health issue.

Far too many women in our communities are facing food insecurity.

The summer before college, while my single-parent mom was saving for my tuition, we survived on McDonald's and my grandmother's meals. I wish we knew about the Food Bank then. We could have had fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers.

I didn't have much access to fresh food growing up, but it doesn't have to be that way now. Today, in honor of , your donations to women like my mom are tripled! Just $10 can provide 150 meals. You can change a life with just one donation to Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.

Give now: https://lnkd.in/ehm2Ab4a

🎉 It's Triple Match Day! (3/13) 🎉

You can give hundreds of meals to women facing food insecurity in our region through today's triple match of your donations. $10 could provide 150 meals!

Give before midnight to have three times the impact in honor of .

Give now: https://bit.ly/triplematchwomensmonth

02/22/2025

Thank you for investing in the future of Depressed While Black! We want to make psychiatric patients feel loved in and outside of hospitals.

Our Heal at Home vision is to welcome psychiatric patients back into the community through Welcome Home Kits that have Black affirming haircare and wellness items. When I was discharged from the hospital, I was not given the tools to rebuild my life. I suffered for years as a result. At Depressed While Black, we want to connect discharged patients with the Black-affirming mental health resources they need to get rooted in their community.

Posted • Congratulations to Depressed While Black, one of Future Fund’s 2024 Grant Recipients! Depressed While Black is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Black psychiatric patients by addressing their unique needs with dignity and care. The organization provides Black-affirming personal care items and transitional support to ensure patients can focus on their recovery and reintegrate into their communities.

We encourage you to explore Depressed While Black’s outreach programs and consider how you can contribute. Take the time to learn more at depressedwhileblack.com.

Outreach Programs include:
WISH List – A curated list of requested care items from staff and patients to enhance well-being.
Black Beauty Supply Kits – Black beauty supplies made with all-natural ingredients in partnership with Hairizon.
Mobile Hair Salon – A pilot program offering hospital-based hair services from Black-affirming stylists.
Heal at Home – A forthcoming initiative dedicated to supporting discharged psychiatric patients as they transition back into the community.

02/17/2025

BOSTON: 🎉 I’m Imadé (ee-MAH-day) and I'm going to The Plug, PureSpark's 5-Year Anniversary Celebration, and I need YOU to come with me! 🌟

🗓️ When: March 20, 2025
📍 Where: Museum of Science, Boston

This event is all about uplifting Black wellness and mental health, and I promise, you don’t want to miss it. Let’s connect, grow, and celebrate together. 💜

Get your FREE ticket today: ThePlug2025.eventbrite.com

Tag your friends—wellness is better in community! 💫