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First published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on July 10, 2024, by reporter Ava Dzurenda

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"The night I was shot, it destroyed me from the inside out,” Leon Ford recounted in a short film shown to a crowd of nearly 150 on Wednesday.

Mr. Ford, a Pittsburgher who was paralyzed after being shot five times by a local police officer during a 2012 traffic stop, was among the speakers at the third annual Black Mental Health Summit. Hosted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Keystone Pennsylvania, the event at the Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg focused on the unique mental health challenges faced by Pittsburgh’s Black community.

“Many people in the city kind of made me a neighborhood hero, even though I didn't look at myself that way,” Mr. Ford said. “That empowered me to focus on my healing, and I never want to underestimate the power of kindness and showing up for our neighbors, because that's essentially what the city of Pittsburgh did for me.”

In his keynote address, Mr. Ford spoke about his experience growing up in a family that faced several losses and taught him to suppress his emotions. He also shared his journey to “choosing himself” for the first time through working with a therapist.

Mr. Ford’s story provided a throughline of sorts for the event, which, at its core, aimed to empower attendees to think past misconceptions about mental health treatments.

“There's this misconception about not showing your pain and strength,” KP Parham, a peer specialist at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, told the crowd. “For that reason, we have a lot of people suffering in silence. I love the fact that [Mr. Ford] came here today and brought light to darkness.”

Addressing Mr. Ford, Mr. Parham praised him for sharing: “I gotta tell you that for sure, despite the things that you have been through, you’re blessing so many of us right now.”

That sense of community was also a recurring theme at the free, 4-hour event, underscoring the importance of collaboration to address challenges and promote healing.

To discuss the next steps for mental health care in Allegheny County — such as creating mobile treatment units and sending mental health professionals rather than police to respond to nonviolent cases — County Executive Sara Innamorato delivered opening remarks.

“As we all embark on this journey of healing and seeking out mental health care and investing in ourselves, it's so important to have that reminder that we're not alone,” Ms. Innamorato said to the crowd. 

“I will not stand up here and pretend to know I know the trauma of racism and the intergenerational effects that it has, but as your executive, I do vow to listen,” she said.

Sequoia Tate, of Penn Hills, said that while she knew about Mr. Ford’s story, his discussion of pursuing therapy resonated in particular. 

“I loved how [Mr. Ford] did not necessarily focus entirely on police brutality, which is, I think what most people think is going to be typical for someone who has been a victim of police brutality,” she said. “I enjoyed seeing how he has encouraged therapy and encouraged young males as well as youth to get that healing — and you have to heal yourself before you can heal anything else.”

Lori Weems, of North Huntingdon, said that as a passionate mental health advocate, she was impressed with Mr. Ford’s wisdom.

“[There were] so many nuggets he hit, so many key points — about being a male, about the stigma around mental health, having to be strong, that cultural thing that's within our families and our communities, and just his resiliency, and how he had to decide and choose, you know what I mean, to get up. So it was extremely powerful,” she said.

For Mr. Ford, receiving positive feedback from the audience couldn’t have made him happier. He said that while he tries to do the best that he can to create a positive impact, sometimes he doesn’t realize the differences he’s making.

“I hope that people in attendance today walk away inspired and embracing their challenges, but not being stuck in their challenges,” he said. “It's really important for us to embrace the fact that what we've been through informs our work, and how we move forward with our families and within our communities.”

Because not everyone will understand the unique issues that Black communities face, Christine Michaels, CEO of NAMI Keystone Pa., said that Black mental health events are “definitely needed.”

“From the time I came to NAMI, which was like 16 or 17 years ago, I wanted to have an event for Black Mental Health Month, and this is what we came up with after a lot of years,” she said. “We get a lot of support from the community, and it's a good sign that we're able to talk about mental health and the African American community.”

Aleta Barnett, NAMI Keystone Pa.’s director of Mental Healthy Equity and Community Engagement, said she was excited about the number of attendees — 140 — at this year's event.

“[Attendance] is almost double from last year, so every year, it's just, you know, getting bigger and bigger, and so I’m excited about that,” she said.

Ms. Barnett also said she hopes that attendees took away understanding of some of the unique challenges that the Black community faces, as well as ways to address them more effectively.

“One of my biggest wishes and desires is for us as a community to give each other the type of grace that people gave me, the type of love that people gave me and the type of encouragement and support that people gave me,” said Mr. Ford.