By Kaelin Rapport and Isha Weerasinghe

In the United States, fear around mental health conditions experienced by people of color exacerbates violence against individuals experiencing mental health crises. On both the individual and systemic level, this violence stems from decades of racist policies that criminalize mental illness, reinforce negative stereotypes about mental and behavioral responses to poverty and discrimination among racial minorities, and shift responsibility for culturally responsive, non-threatening mental health treatment to under-resourced communities.

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