What Philly’s 1st Mental Health Walk-In Clinic Could Mean for the Black Community

Trigger Warning: Portions of this piece discuss suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. The hotline offers free, confidential support 24/7 by trained counselors.

Philadelphia is opening its first walk-in urgent care clinic for mental health needs. The timing could not be better.

Situated in South Philly between Broad and West Allegheny Avenue, the walk-in clinic officially opens on September 3rd and is currently offering tours to community leaders and officials. This clinic is a partnership between the city and Merakey Health, a nationwide mental health service provider.

While the clinic is not a crisis response center, will not offer emergency services, nor is affiliated with the 988 mental health hotline, it will offer assistance for those experiencing mood disorders and various conditions like depression, grief, stress, and anxiety. It will also offer referrals to community outpatient programs for those in need of longer-term care.

“Through this clinic,” a report on their site reads, “Merakey aims to reduce avoidable visits to crisis response centers and emergency rooms by helping people get the mental health care they need when they need it.” Just like local medical urgent care centers, this clinic offers walk-in services to get the urgent help patients may need. It is a place to refill prescriptions, seek counseling, or receive a timely psychiatric evaluation.

The new clinic’s arrival comes at a crucial time. Black Philadelphians, representing about 40% of Philadelphia County’s residents, are facing dire challenges surrounding mental health. Those have only been exacerbated in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s no secret that century’s old structural racism and implicit bias negatively impact Black people. This often makes seeking care for mental health needs burdensome. Mental health services in the city, while very needed, are difficult for many Black residents to access.

There are financial difficulties that make most healthcare, specifically mental healthcare, what some view, as an unnecessary burden. Black Philadelphians face the highest rates of poverty of any of the city demographics. Poverty, along with its litany of consequences, including the poor quality of many neighborhoods, lack of access to basic services, and exposure to violence, all take a toll on residents’ mental health. This creates a downward cycle of mental health decline and illuminates how those who may need mental health services the most are too often not able to receive them.

There also remains a shortage of qualified mental health professionals. Among those mental health professionals who are available, there is a lack of cultural competency. That lack of cultural understanding alone increases the likelihood of misdiagnosis and insufficient treatment of Black patients.

Then there is the fallout from Covid-19. The pandemic took an unprecedented toll on the mental health of many, most critically the city’s teens and young adults. A perfect storm of relying on social media for human interaction and the challenges of online schooling or working from home exclusively, all while in isolation, in addition to underlying issues within the person and/or home compounded challenges for many of the city’s youngest residents. A recent report showed that Black people experienced an 11% spike in mental health concerns in the years during and following pandemic lockdowns. Too often these issues have negative results. New data shows an alarming increase in Black teen suicides and increased levels of depression and hopelessness across the Black community.

Then, there is still a stigma in Black communities surrounding seeking mental health services. A city report on the wellbeing of Black men and boys says, “Disparities in mental health care including stress management…is a persistent problem as fewer (African Americans) seek treatment upon diagnosis,” with only 49% of those who receive diagnoses seeking treatment. There remains a distrust of health providers in Black communities, one that can only be broken with community access, conversations, and transparency.

Centers like this new Merakey clinic are a hopeful step to bridge those gaps. Community-based care centers where barriers to entry and care are lowered offer more opportunities for those who need that care the most to access it. They are also opportunities to lower the stigma associated with mental health services and combat communal hesitancy in seeking those services. Will this center be the start of dismantling those barriers and difficulties? Only time, access, and transparency will tell.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. The hotline offers free, confidential support and is 24/7 by trained counselors.

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