FAIRFIELD, Ohio — The bed was her safe space.
Ashley Glass used to crawl under the covers, forget about her issues and try to sleep. She did this all the time — even if it wasn’t dark outside.
She didn’t think much about it. Because she did it to survive.
Growing up, Glass’s anxiety felt like butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t know what it was. And for years, she wouldn’t. She didn’t know it was turning into depression.
Until she began seeing a therapist.
“Therapy saved my life,” she said.
But not right away.
At first, Glass saw any therapist recommended to her — any therapist covered by her insurance.
Eventually, she realized any therapist wouldn’t do. She said she was more comfortable talking to a Black woman — someone who looked like her.
The problem was that therapist wasn’t easy to find. And she's not alone.
In Ohio, there are more than 2.3 million people who say they have a mental illness. Across the country, more than 6,600 mental health practitioners are needed to fill the void.
Glass’s mental health journey is part of the reason she started Black Women Cultivating Change. It’s a nonprofit organization focused on connecting people to resources and trying to fund more preventative mental health services.
She says the lack of Black therapists is a complaint she hears all the time. It’s a complaint echoed by people she works with.
“We are nowhere close to where we need to be,” said Meredith Poynter, regional director for the Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition.
Poynter is part of a task force examining the shortage of behavioral health workers in our region. This group found that for every 380 people who need mental health services in Ohio, there's only one worker to support them. In their research, Poynter's coalition also found this: a mental health facility with 1,300 children on its waiting list.
“A lot of people aren’t getting the services they need,” Poynter said. “And then things get worse.”
At the University of Cincinnati, Lauren White is researching Black mental health for his doctoral degree. White’s been a counselor in Ohio for seven years. He said he’s one of the few male Black therapists in Cincinnati — but he’s not taking new patients.
White said systemic issues have prevented him from flourishing in the field. It's a similar experience, he said, to how patients who look like him often feel.
Ashley Glass has heard that, too. And felt it.
“There’s not enough black therapists to go around,” she said.
Get involved:
In July, officials with Black Women Cultivating Change are putting on a mental health symposium to work toward solutions to this problem. Find more information on their website.
The Black Mental Health Summit is taking place at the Holloman Center for Social Justice at 3539 Reading Road Saturday, July 20 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
