In this podcast Sana Chehimi, director of policy and advocacy for Prevention Institute, interviews Isha Weerasinghe, a senior policy analyst on the youth team at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). They discuss the importance of supporting mental health and wellbeing for communities of color to achieve an equitable COVID-19 recovery and as part of dismantling systems that perpetuate structural violence and racism. Isha describes how applying a racial justice lens to center lived experiences and community leadership allows CLASP to broaden the understanding of mental health and wellbeing and develop policy solutions and strategies that are otherwise overlooked.Read more about CLASP’s work:Behind the Asterisk*: Perspectives on Young Adult Mental Health from "Small and Hard-to-Reach" Communitieshttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/behind-asteriskReconnecting, Realizing and Reimagining Justice: Advancing Economic Justice for Individuals and Communities Impacted by the Criminal Justice Systemhttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/reconnectingjustice“Everybody Got Their Go Throughs”: Young Adults on the Frontlines of Mental Healthhttps://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/publications/2017/08/Everybody-Got-Their-Go-Throughs-Young-Adults-on-the-Frontlines-of-Mental-Health.pdfBetween the Lines: Understanding Our Country’s Racialized Response to the Opioid Overdose Epidemichttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/between-lines-understanding-our-country-s-racialized-response-opioidTen Core Competencies for Youth and Young Adult Centered Mental Health Systemshttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/ten-core-competencies-youth-and-young-adult-centered-mental-health-systemsRefining Evidence-Based Practices: Expanding Our View of Evidencehttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/redefining-evidence-based-practices-expanding-our-view-evidenceUnlocking Transformation and Healing: Overview of Policy Options for Accessible Youth and Young Adult Mental Health Carehttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/unlocking-transformation-and-healing-overview-policy-options-accessibleMental and Behavioral Health System Fixes During the COVID-19 Crisis, and Beyondhttps://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/mental-and-behavioral-health-system-fixes-during-covid-19-crisis-and"We are pressed on every side, but we are not crushed" by Kisha Bird https://medium.com/@CLASP_DC/we-are-pressed-on-every-side-but-we-are-not-crushed-5206f6de093f"Divest to save Black lives. Invest to heal communities" by Duy Pham and Kayla Tawahttps://www.clasp.org/blog/divest-save-black-lives-invest-heal-communities?utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=youth&emci=2287a787-71c0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&emdi=7e74bca6-8cc0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&ceid=6522859"Defund police in schools and expand school-based mental health" by Whitney Buntshttps://www.clasp.org/blog/defund-police-schools-and-expand-school-based-mental-health?utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mh&emci=2287a787-71c0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&emdi=7e74bca6-8cc0-ea11-9b05-00155d03bda0&ceid=6522859*Photo credit: Sarah Mittermaier