MH Boxes: Building resilience for Black girls

Mila, who has struggled with mental health in the past, recently applied and received a fantastic microgrant through the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium. This grant is for the 2023 Black Girl Joy Challenge Special Edition and provides a small amount of funding to help an initiative to support black girls' mental and/or physical health. Mila has decided to use the funds to create care boxes for Black girls in her community. The money she received will cover approximately 15 boxes and will contain coping tools. The contents inside were curated by Mila and are all her favorite items that have helped Mila cope with her anxiety. By packaging them up, she wants these girls to understand it is okay to talk about mental health, especially among a population that does not talk about it and does not seek treatment as often as they should.

MH Boxes was established in 2023 by the determined and compassionate 12-year-old, Mila. Confronting her own mental health challenges, Mila gained a profound understanding of the importance of communication. She embarked on a journey to assemble tools that would aid her in navigating her mental health treatment. As a member of a bi-racial family, Mila is acutely aware of the disparities in how mental health is perceived. While conversations around mental health are often open in white families, there exists a hesitancy within black families to engage in such discussions. Recognizing the resulting stigma and its impact on access to mental health care, Mila felt compelled to make a difference. MH Boxes is Mila's way of giving back to young black girls, providing them with toolboxes to navigate their mental health journeys, fostering coping mechanisms, and letting them know they are not alone.

While Mila works to get her nonprofit up and running, please consider a small donation to keep the mission going. At this time, a $100 donation will provide supplies needed to make boxes for 5 girls.

Please visit our (very new) website to learn more: www.mhboxes.org

If you have questions, please email us at [email redacted]