HelpNAMI-NYC’s Tanisha Malcom Named to NYC DOHMH Consumer Advisory Board
New York, January 3, 2023–NAMI-NYC volunteer and participant Tanisha Malcom has been named to New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s (DOHMH) Bureau of Mental Health Consumer Advisory Board (CAB).
“I’m honored to be a part of the Consumer Advisory Board. As someone that identifies as a peer who has utilized mental health services to manage my bipolar diagnosis for roughly two decades, I look forward to sharing my expertise with our City’s leadership,” Tanisha shared. “Before I found a community at NAMI-NYC, I was navigating the mental health landscape on my own. I hope to share what I’ve learned on my mental health journey with the CAB and the larger New York community.”
The mission of the CAB is to review and make recommendations for existing and future DOHMH policies, programs, services and issues that impact individuals with mental health needs. CAB meets monthly and requires a three-year commitment. Appointment to CAB requires a rigorous application process. Two members of our community, Maria Langan and Felix Guzman, currently sit on the CAB.
“To be able to draw from lived experience and to lead by example is at the crux of the CAB experience for me. It has been an honor to share space with my fellow peers, like Tanisha, work alongside of DOHMH staff, and to learn from the very knowledgeable guest presenters,” Felix noted. “Attending CAB meetings has offered valuable information that I have been able to provide to peers, colleagues and advocacy groups such as NAMI-NYC and Peer Corps,” Maria added.
Tanisha joined the NAMI-NYC community in 2019, attending our Living with Bipolar support group, as well as our creative writing and comedy social groups. During the pandemic, Tanisha wanted to become more of a mental health advocate, so she trained and volunteered as a support group facilitator. However, she was looking for culturally specific mental health support. “Our Black Minds Matter group was created as a space where those with a diagnosis and symptoms can come and feel a sense of community and safety in sharing. Stigma is so prevalent and living with a diagnosis can be a lonely existence, thus the importance of this culturally-specific support group,” Tanisha shared. Tanisha helped create and currently co-facilitates the group.
In 2022, Tanisha trained to become a NAMI-NYC Advocacy Ambassador and looks forward to participating in larger actions that transform mental health policies and decriminalize mental illness, including rallies across New York City and an advocacy day in Albany.
Tanisha is a peer specialist. As someone with a lived experience with a mental health diagnosis, she provides collaborative support and case management to people transitioning from an inpatient psychiatric setting back into the community. Tanisha is a native New Yorker and lives in Queens.
To learn more about how to get involved with NAMI-NYC, visit http://www.naminyc.org/advocacy. To find a free mental health program that’s right for you or to join our Black Minds Matter support group, visit our calendar.