Diversity Doesn’t Just Happen

Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA) is one of Los Angeles County’s largest and most comprehensive social service agencies. We provide integrated mental health, medical care, employment, housing, wellness, and education services to adults and transition-age youth, with a special program for Veterans. Headquartered in Long Beach, we are located in 24 sites across LA County.

MHALA is honored to be nominated for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) awards. This honor is important to us because DEI is at the core of who we are as an agency and what we are trying to do today.

More than 72% of the individuals we serve, or “members,” are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). About 77% of MHALA’s staff are now BIPOC and LGBTQ+.

Many of our staff also have “lived experience,” either through their own experiences or through their families, including homelessness, poverty, substance use, or mental or physical health challenges.

One thing we learned from the pandemic is that mental health is not a binary phenomenon where people are either mentally ill or they aren’t. Everyone has “mental health” that can fluctuate based on what they are experiencing.

When I joined MHALA as a new CEO five years ago, I interviewed staff across the agency and asked for their views on what was working, what wasn’t, and where they would like the agency to go. Many staff expressed that they wanted the leadership of the organization to reflect the diversity that already existed within the staff and the members we serve.

I had observed that there were a number of BIPOC staff members who were contributing a great deal to the organization, and efforts were put in place to identify and recognize the greatest contributors from within MHALA.

The impact has been excellent. We now have a leadership team (managers and above) that is 64% BIPOC.

In recent years, we have also prioritized our efforts to ensure that our agency has a diverse Board of Directors by reaching out to individuals from a broad range of backgrounds. Our current Board of Directors is 50% BIPOC (20% LatinX, 20% Black and 10% Asian), and 20% are immigrants. In addition, the Executive Committee of the Board is 50% BIPOC.

Our staff and leadership diversity has a profoundly positive impact on the people that we serve. The broad experiences and cultural backgrounds of our staff help them in understanding and responding to our members.

Individuals from different cultural backgrounds often have varying perspectives on mental health, physical health, and what it means to accept help. By having a staff that is reflective of the various backgrounds and experiences of our members, we can provide culturally sensitive and competent care that better connects our members to the services they need.

Individuals seeking our services may feel more seen and heard when connected to a provider that is reflective of their own background — whether that’s a shared lived experience such as homelessness or a mental health challenge, or someone who speaks their native language.

But the impact of our diversity doesn’t stop there. It feeds the core culture of our organization, which celebrates differences and values work-life balance and staff wellbeing. At a time when many similar organizations are experiencing immense turnover, MHALA has had a low turnover rate. Staff report that they want to stay at MHALA not only because the agency does valuable work, but also because MHALA cares about them.

Diversity in our organization fosters feelings of acceptance and safety. When an organization becomes diverse at all levels, staff feel freer to be who they are and to express their ideas and concerns more openly. Morale and staff commitment to the organization increase. People do their best work when they can bring their authentic selves to their jobs.

Our staff and leadership diversity has a profoundly positive impact on the people that we serve. The broad experiences and cultural backgrounds of our staff help them in understanding and responding to our members.