Building Community Builds Mental Health

Did you know that community organizing can promote mental health and wellbeing? “Promoting Community Mental Health,”  from Hesperian Health Guides, highlights how.

Connecting with others can affirm that we are not isolated or alone. In community, we gain a sense of belonging and safety. This can help us maintain good mental health.

We can also join with others to address the many factors that can affect our mental health, such as violence in our communities, food deserts, and discrimination. We can develop solidarity as we work to not only change our communities but ourselves. Every part of our lives is strengthened through community organizing. The chapter highlights several case studies, addressing how Domestic Workers United (DWU), Latino Health Access (LHA), The Greening of Detroit, and Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK) do this work in their respective communities with their respective causes.

The chapter concludes with an activity that can aid us in identifying the problems in our neighborhood, why they’re happening, and how to address them moving forward. When we do this, we not only treat mental health problems but prevent them from developing by addressing the causes.

People may not think of organizing or participating in community activities as mental health promotion work. Yet all these efforts clearly support community mental health—they help people get to know their neighbors better, develop their abilities to change things for the better alongside others, and make the community a more enjoyable, fair, and safe place.

SOURCE: Hesperian Health Guides • AUTHOR: Paula Worby and Todd Jailer • LAST UPDATED: January 1, 2025