Philadelphia Hosts 3rd Annual International Initiative For Mental Health Leadership Gathering
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's behavioral health policy was in the spotlight, Monday, as officials from eight foreign countries came to study what's working.
This is the third annual gathering, here, for members of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership.
Isabella Goldie was drawn here, from Scotland, because of the city's groundbreaking place-based, trauma-informed approach to behavioral health.
"People who are living in poverty, living with racism or discrimination and the impact of adversity in childhood means that they're more likely to develop mental health problems so the trauma-informed approach is quite unique to Philadelphia," said Goldie.
Goldie, like the officials from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and elsewhere think their urban centers can learn from the approach. Mayor Kenney thanked them for coming, with a nod to the current trauma bedeviling some Philadelphia children.
"I was at a grade school in South Philly and they had a chance to come up to the microphone, these little sweeties, and asked questions of me and two-thirds of them wanted to know if I could keep their parents from being deported," said Kenney.