Twentieth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The researcher posits that residing in an environmentally toxic neighborhood determines the need for, access to, and use of mental health help among pre-adolescent Black American boys. Many educational institutions that serve this population are situated in spaces engulfed by land, air, and water contamination. The researcher has argued that dwelling in these places creates amplified levels of noxious strain which adversely impacts the mental health help-seeking experiences (MHHSE) of pre-adolescent Black American children. Through Their Digital Eyes: Adding to the Subtracted Space presents one tool that can further explain the mental health narratives of this group. Specifically, the researcher proposes conducting a participatory photo-based examination to increase the involvement of pre-adolescent Black American boys in local and global environmental plus economic sustainability initiatives. The digital image has become an inextricable part of our lives. Young kids readily use them to converse with each other through a habitual capturing and sharing of pictures (e.g., social media platforms or texting). The researcher contends that this very accessible form of art, communication, and expression can assist his focal population with understanding the various complex environmental and financial stressors that they encounter while residing in communities affected by harmful pollution, depleted resources, along with economic insecurity. The knowledge gleaned from this project shall be useful for school-based mental health practitioners (e.g., psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, etc.) or other instrumental professionals with developing more comprehensive strategies that help in comprehending, reframing, and mending the MHHSE of pre-adolescent Black American boys.