racial and ethnic justice
Racial and Ethnic Justice program brings together the wide diversity of people, resources, and perspectives to push back on the bigotry and racism that is all too pervasive in this community to ensure that every person has equal access to opportunity. We currently offer three different program to offer as much widespread support to the community as we can.
Mental health initiative
A component of our Racial and Ethnic Justice (REJ) department is our mental health initiative, which provides free mental health counseling to individuals facing challenges related to racial and economic inequality. Participants in the program receive seven one-on-one sessions with a licensed therapist at no cost to them, thanks to funding from grants and donor support.
Recognizing that racism is a public health crisis, as declared by the National Community Action Partnership's Equity and Economic Mobility Commission in June 2021, our mental health initiative is committed to making mental health services accessible and affordable. It also seeks to address the stigma in many communities of color where seeking mental health support is often seen as a sign of weakness.
In January 2024, the REJ team expanded efforts to combat this stigma by contracting six qualified therapists, most of whom are people of color serving the Lehigh Valley. With generous financial support from ESSA Bank, these therapists provided free therapy sessions to individuals who applied for assistance, making mental health care more accessible to those in need.
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For more information, contact Winslow Mason, Director of Racial and Ethnic Justice, at wmason@caclv.org.
Generation Next
Generation Next, a program of Community Action Lehigh Valley, is a college readiness, access, and completion program created to correct disparities in education. Our program works with students to achieve college admission, integrate into college life, and complete a post-secondary program or trade focus.
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Generation Next students receive programming within their high school classrooms to develop the essential skills used to navigate high school and college while building a better understanding of themselves.
