On September 28, 2020, Dr. Dawn Tyus, the Director and Principal Investigator of the Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center, was awarded a five year 3.5-million-dollar grant by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help establish The African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence at Morehouse School of Medicine—an initiative designed to eliminate disparities and promote behavioral health and health equity for Black people.

Recently named the Medical Advisor, Dr. Sarah Vinson, M.D., F.A.P.A. will work alongside key stakeholders, scientists, and educators to create data-driven, transformational systems to help achieve the following identified goals for the CoE:

Increase the capacity of [Behavioral Health] systems to provide outreach, engage, retain, and effectively care for Black/African American (B/AA) people.
Improve dissemination of up-to-date information and culturally appropriate evidenced- based practices/approaches for B/AA people.
Increase workforce development opportunities focused on implicit bias, social determinants of health, structural racism, and other factors that impede high-quality care for B/AA.
Increase collaboration between the center and SAMHSA TTA providers, to infuse culturally appropriate information on B/AA people in all SAMHSA-funded TTA Centers.

For more information, visit africanamericanbehavioralhealth.org or email the center info@africanamericanbehavioralhealth.org.

About the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation and to improve the lives of individuals living with mental and substance use disorders, and their families.