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IOWA — One in five adults in the U.S. struggle with mental illness. In the Black community, only one in three Black adults in need of mental health care receive it.

In 2023, the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative created the Back the Black campaign as part of their Make It OK mental health initiative. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Black individuals are often less likely to have access to mental health care services, may lack health insurance, experience generational trauma, and in many cases, mental health simply isn’t discussed in families.

Back the Black was created by Black Iowans – for Black Iowans – to provide language (how to start conversations), information and resources to address the stigma, and to encourage those who may be suffering from mental illness to seek help.

Shawna Lindell supports Back the Black and credits years of counseling and medication for helping her survive a childhood of abuse and neglect.

Lindell is a nursing student at DMACC, she’s married and is raising 5-year-old twin boys. She was in more than two dozen foster homes from the time she was seven until she was an adult. After years of therapy, she found herself in crisis again in 2022.

About two years ago I was working overnights, still finishing up some of my pre recs and just really tired,” Lindell said. “Oh, my husband was working long hours, and just trying to figure out who I wanted to be. I just, something snapped, you know, I had enough. I was driving to work one night and I wanted it to just drive off the bridge. So I called my husband and he started searching for a therapist for me. And like within the week, I was back in therapy twice a week.”

Lindell is very open about her story, and hopes by sharing her journey to mental wellness she can help others.

Lindell is an inspiration. She will earn her associate degree in nursing next spring and plans to become a nurse practitioner, helping women who are postpartum address mental health issues before they’re in crisis.

For those wanting to learn more, the Des Moines Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is sponsoring a Mental Health Conference on Saturday, May 18 at the Hope + Elim Church, near the Drake University Campus. The “Keep the WE in Wellness” conference starts at 10:00 a.m. and goes until 2:00 p.m.