Minority Health Fair to encompass mental, physical well-being
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The health fair, which also will include screenings for blood pressure, glucose and weight and height, features a panel discussion from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and a guest speaker from 12:30-1:15 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Black Cultural Center and the Minority Health Coalition of Tippecanoe County and will be held at the Black Cultural Center, 1100 Third St.
The guest speaker is psychiatrist Sitha Gita Kalapatapu, who will talk about American chattel slavery, which prevailed in early American history. She will discuss how it has affected the identity of black people more than 100 years after it ended.
Kalapatapu is board certified in general psychiatry and by the American Board of Adolescent Psychiatry. She speaks on such issues as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar illnesses, depression, stress management and abuse. She has devoted her career and life to helping people overcome inhibitions while maintaining dignity when dealing with emotional issues that have impaired their lives. She works with them to gain the strength to put their lives back together again.
"The health fair will revolve around the inner workings of a person as opposed to the physical health," said Jolivete Anderson-Douoning, program and service supervisor at the Black Cultural Center. "Dr. Kalapatapu will examine how many women and men often portray themselves as impossibly strong, powerful creatures who can essentially support the burdens of the entire planet on their shoulders. In reality, these impossibly strong, powerful people have their breaking points too."
Other guest panelists include David Rollock, associate professor of psychological sciences; Susan Prieto-Welch, director of counseling and psychological services; Kurt Harker, Mental Health Association; and Jeffery Jones, doctoral candidate. The panel discussion is from 11:15-12:15 p.m. Jane Kinyon, clinical assistant professor of nursing, and volunteers from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, will conduct mental health screenings.
For information, contact Jolivette Anderson-Douoning at (765)494-3094 or visit the Black Cultural Center's web site.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Source: Jolivette Anderson-Douoning, (765) 494-3094, jjanderson@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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