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Black Women’s Mental Health Institute Awarded $224,000 to Create Career Pathways for Youth

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Dr. Nadia Johnson, Founder and CEO of the Black Women’s Mental Health Institute, was among four area nonprofits selected to win the second round of the Catalyze Birmingham Challenge. (File)

By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times

Four area nonprofits were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants to win the second round of the Catalyze Birmingham Challenge, an initiative supported by the Walton Family Foundation and a coalition of local funders that creates opportunities to connect young people with meaningful work experiences.

Winners included Black Women’s Mental Health Institute ($224,000), which introduces high school juniors and seniors from the Birmingham region to mental health careers, among other services.

“We are extremely excited and honored to get this level of support,” said Dr. Nadia Johnson, Founder and CEO of the BWMHI. “We are specifically honored in the granters believing in our capacity to do this high level of work and to prove that we can serve the community in a different way that supports the workforce development in our state.”

Alabama has ranked 51st in the country (including District of Columbia) for mental health workforce “and we have consecutively for the past couple of years,” Johnson said. “Our mental health navigation program is an opportunity for us to address that by nurturing high school students who have an interest in mental health as a professional field and career track and mentoring them, educating them, providing them with resources so that they are fully prepared once they graduate high school to go into an appropriate program at a university level. It lays the foundation for them to have a whole career in mental health care. “

BWMHI is an organization that seeks to build support for an awareness of the mental and holistic wellness of Black women, Johnson said. “One of the things that we talk about a lot is the lack of diversity that exists in the mental health care field as far as the number of clinicians. We have programs like our clinician and training programs that support master-level students through college and into their full life as insurance professionals.”

The program is open to everyone, she added.

“While we are looking to increase the number of Black clinicians in our state and in our country, we are also interested in making sure that we nurture culturally responsive clinicians from every community,” she said. “Participants don’t have to just be Black. We’re going to be reaching out to high schools from throughout the Birmingham region to participate. Applications will open soon.”

Other winners of the challenge included:

Blount County Education Foundation ($188,734):

The BIG Virtual Careers initiative is a career exploration mobile unit customized as a multi-modal lab space for learners ages 14-18. This mobile lab delivers career exploration opportunities and raises awareness of college and career-ready programs available at the Blount County Career Technical Center across seven communities.

Jefferson State Community College Foundation, Inc. ($150,000)

The WOW: JSCC Workforce on Wheels bridges the gap between education and high-demand careers through mobile career exploration simulators to learners aged 11-18. These immersive, video game-like training tools will provide youth across the college’s four-county service area with firsthand exposure to career pathways through industry-backed curriculum and simulations.

Children from the after school care program at the Northeast YMCA join in on the groundbreaking last September as part of the revitalization effort in Roebuck. (File)

YMCA of Greater Birmingham ($154,195).

The Bridge to Success program is to be delivered out of the Northeast YMCA in Roebuck to 18- to 22-year-olds as a resource hub for the neighborhood that will include counseling services, a state-of-the-art pediatric clinic, affordable home ownership and youth center. The Northeast Y’s Leadership and Learning Center will be the epicenter for career pathway service providers to facilitate technical assistance that leads to a higher rate of high school graduates and enrollment in a trade certification program, college or a civic service academy.

Catalyze Birmingham Challenge Specialist Carlisha Harris emphasized the importance of the initiative’s ongoing impact and commitment to fostering career-connected learning.

“Building on the success of our inaugural round, this second cohort of Catalyze Birmingham grantees reflects the growing momentum and innovation in Birmingham’s push for career-connected learning,” Harris said. “These organizations are driving transformative change in career-connected learning and demonstrating the power of collaboration and community-focused solutions. We’re thrilled to support their vision and excited to see the impact they will create.”

In March 2024, the Catalyze Birmingham Challenge awarded $720,000 to five organizations demonstrating bold and innovative approaches to career-connected learning. This inaugural cohort forged powerful partnerships with employers and communities to transform educational experiences — and their initiatives continue to inspire and shape Birmingham’s education landscape.