Raquel Rose, PhD student in the NYU Steinhardt Counseling Psychology program and research staff on Drs. Shabnam Javdani and Erin Godfrey’s Systems Aligning for Equity (SAFE) Spaces project, has been awarded a position in the inaugural cohort of Mental Health Advocates of Tomorrow by Hinge. Hinge has committed $100,000 for wellness champions dedicated to ensuring BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities have access to empathetic therapists who can help them build healthy relationships. Recipients receive $10,000 each towards their education costs. 

In Raquel’s application, she spoke about her vision to address the lack of sufficient mental well-being resources for underrepresented communities. She said, “My ultimate career goal is to become the director and practicing child and family psychologist of a community mental health center that coordinates mental health and other social services while pushing for community led, sustainable mental health policy change at the state, federal and international levels.” She writes that improved mental wellness and safety must include building greater trust between communities, practitioners, and institutions to provide higher quality care. She believes this can be done by promoting healing-centered, liberation focused training and recognizing individuals’ intersecting identities as practitioners work to restructure oppressive systems. 

She is thrilled by the potential of this grant funding and the space it gives her to continue to focus on her research and clinical work at NYU.

Read more about Raquel Rose and the inaugural cohort in Hinge’s press release.