Trigger warning. This content includes references to suicide and other sensitive material. 

We need to talk about mental health. To talk about it is to understand it; to understand it is to remove the stigma, and removing the stigma provides a safe space for those suffering to seek help. Did you know that abuse, neglect, and adverse childhood experiences are considered the principal preventable causes of mental illness? In the presence of violence and absence of love, neglected children have chronic activation of the stress response system - something that will derail almost every aspect of their fragile development? Protecting and supporting our children emotionally and mentally from a young age is an urgent and non-negotiable need.

Look at mental health in the black community, and you will understand that the roots run much deeper, the abuse and neglect spanning generations. Black Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population - with the stigma and shame of seeking help a massive barrier to protecting our communities.

In this episode, we hear from two important and influential guests. Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of the nationally syndicated show, The Breakfast Club, and Benjamin Perks, Head of Campaigns and Advocacy in the Division of Global Communications at UNICEF. Both Charlamagne and Benjamin share a personal passion and urgency for creating awareness around mental health. They may have very different audiences, but their message is clear there is hope, and the cycle can be broken.