There Is No Health Without Mental Health

This post was originally shared with our community as a newsletter on Oct 11, 2026.

Hey Queen,

Yesterday was World Mental Health Day.

Normally, I’d send a note with my usual reflection—reminding us to check on our loved ones, drop the stigma, and rest. But this year demands a deviation from the script.

Honoring Dr. David Satcher

This past week, in my leadership role at a global health equity institute, we spent two days honoring the legacy of Dr. David Satcher. Beyond his towering accolades—First Black U.S. Surgeon General, Former CDC Director, and past president of three HBCU medical schools—two things have always struck me about Dr. Satcher.

First, his heart. During my fellowship year, sitting with him monthly taught me what leadership really means: making sure people feel seen, heard, and deeply valued.

Second, his courage. Dr. Satcher was the first Surgeon General to create a mental health report with policy recommendations to boot and the first to declare: “There is no health without mental health.”

Mental Health Is More Than Self-Care

Between honoring Dr. Satcher and speaking on a World Mental Health Day panel yesterday about migration, belonging, and well-being, I’ve felt a shift. We cannot keep reducing mental health to individual coping strategies—bubble baths, breathing exercises, or self-care checklists—while ignoring the colossal failure of our systems.

When chronic policy failure, displacement, and systemic violence terrorize our communities—like ICE agents opening fire on a father with his 5-year-old child in the back seat—it isn’t an individual flaw when we feel worn down. It is a predictable response to harm. We are now literally defining “migration-related adverse childhood events.”

Our children deserve better. Our neighbors deserve better. We cannot claim to fight for mentally healthy communities while allowing those communities to be terrorized.

So this year, my message isn’t a reminder to rest. It’s a plea to act.

Policy Is Mental Health Care

Right now, the Haitian diaspora community—a community I work with closely and hold deeply—is carrying immense, psychological weight due to our broken immigration policies. Just weeks ago, 20-year-old Pierre Damas Bel died after being forced to wear an ICE ankle monitor.

Currently, S. 4814—a bill extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals—is sitting in the Senate.

Policy is mental health care. For our immigrant and refugee neighbors, systemic protection is the difference between chronic anxiety and safety.

How You Can Take Action

Call your senator: Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Tell them your name, your state, and this exact message:

“I am calling to urge the Senator to support and pass S. 4814 to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals. Protecting human rights and community stability is essential to our public health.”

Let’s embody the humanity, compassion, and courage of leaders like Dr. David Satcher. Let’s fight for a world where we don’t just survive—where every single one of us can thrive and live whole, safe, and healthy lives.