Health professionals and Black churches partner to address rising suicide rates

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – University of Rochester Medical Center has a new partnership with predominantly Black churches called HAVEN-CONNECT.

The focus of this project is for URMC mental health professionals to collaborate with leaders at Black churches to provide mentorship for Black youth in an attempt to address rising suicide rates among that demographic.

“Historically, the Black church has been particularly the anchor of the community. We deal with faith, we deal with relationships, economics, families, so there’s a holistic approach to reaching families,” said Pastor Fred Johnson.

This project just launched in the fall.