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June 1 7 ,1992...The Portland Observer...Page 9
Do African Americans
Have The Right to Quality
Mental Health Care?
Today's modem American family
faces a lot o f pressing societal forces
which taxes the fam ily's ability to cope
w ith and handle the issues, as they
challenge the fam ily unit. Current top
ics such as drugs, gang violence, teen
pregnancies, school drop outs, domes
tic abuse and unemployment, are the
forefront o f the media. African A m eri
cans face the additional pressures from
discrim ination, hate crimes, general
cultural insensitivity , and other forms
o f racism. These additional factors are
generally not given the attention in our
society what they deserve.
A more specific example o f this
disregard for the needs o f the culturally
diverse groups can be found in mental
health and human service systems.
These supports were developed ac
cording to the needs o f a traditional
Caucasian fam ily and their value sys
tem. This does not address some spe
cific cultural needs in the African Am eri
can Community.
It is important to understand why
African Americans may not seek the
assistance o f a mental health profes
sional to w ork through d iffic u lt topics
and issues such as these. Broadly, the
reason can be grouped as culture; Tra
ditionally the African American fam ily
Social Security Earnings Records
Getting What You Deserve
BY MARTHA A. MCSTEEN
Have you ever checked your So
cial Security earnings record? I f not,
you may want to make a note to do so.
It could mean more money in your
pocket down the road.
Few people know that between
1978 and 1984, more than $58 b illio n in
wages were not credited to the Social
Security records o f an estimated 9 m il
lion w orking Americans and beneficia
ries. Additional errors between 1984
and 1988 raised the total to about $68
b illion .
These errors are important because
how much workers earn and how long
they work are key factors in determin
ing the amount o f Social Security ben
efits.
The findings came from a General
Accounting O ffice report that prompted
the National Committee to Preserve
Social Security and Medicare to sue the
Social Security Adm inistration and the
Internal Revenue Service to correct
those records and implement proper
procedures to make sure they don’ t
recur.
Finally, after a four-year battle, the
fig h t is over. The lawsuit has been
does not seek outside intervention to
address personal problems. In spite o f
these barriers, the African American
individual/fam ily should understand
that seeking help is not a sign o f weak
ness or craziness. Mental health pro
viders, i.e. social workers, psychiatrists,
psychologist pastors, or others trained
to work w ith people, to help solve their
problems.
To take advantage o f the benefits
o f appropriate mental health services,
the African American individual/fam
error can be d iffic u lt because it requires
all kinds o f paperwork and rei o.ds that
may be d iffic u lt or impossible to ehiain.
I strongly urge a ll w orking A m e ri
cans and Social Security ben. fie. ric
to call or v is it their Social S c.i iity
office every few years to . quest a
Personal Earnings and Bene its Esti
mate Statement and check their earn
ings record.
A little e ffo rt now could save you a
lo t o f unnecessary headaches in the
future.
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ily must:
1. Recognize the need to get help.
2. Be w illin g to seek out and obtain
help.
3. Advocate for services that may
be specific to the needs o f an African
American i f required.
African Americans are confronted
daily w ith p olitical, economic and so
cial issues that directly effect their
lives. It is important to identify the
potential impact on an individual or
fam ily and that everyone has the right
to quality mental health care.
M iriam Robinson is an African
A m erican licensed c lin ic a l social
w orker in private practice in the Port
land area.
settled. The Social Security A d m in is
tration and 1RS have agreed to im ple
ment procedures that w ill goa long way
towards ensuring accuraæ and tim ely
crediting o f employee wages. Equally
important, the government also at .. ed
to make it easier for present and past
workers to correct incorrect reco i. end
apply fo r any retroactive pay men is. Tor
example, the agency also w ill accept a
claim i f the government has a rec< id o f
a person’s earnings in the year ii.m iedi-
ately before or after the year in ques
tion, and the claimed earnings arc > on-
sistent with the w orker’s earnings his
tory.
‘ Currently, correcting an earnings
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Donate A Brick
In last week's edition, an error was made in the
"Donate A Brick" article. It should have been
$50.00 instead of $5.00. We apologize for an
inconvenience.