The materials for this product were originally aired and distributed during the South Southwest MHTTC Region 6 Peer Support Conference which took place June 22-24.
What is possible for how peer support can change communities? How can we build systems that support peer support as a viable health care option that don’t dilute or diminish it? What is our most radical vision for what health care can look like for people across the spectrum of mental health? These questions and more will be explored.
Yolo Akili Robinson is a writer, yoga teacher, and the Executive Director and founder of BEAM, Black Emotional and Mental Health. For over 15 years, Yolo has been on the forefront of progressive wellness work.
Yolo began his career in public health supporting Black communities as an HIV/AIDS counselor. He then branched into violence prevention, working as a family intervention counselor with Black men and boys for Men Stopping Violence. Feeling strongly about the need for more feminist work with men, Yolo co-founded Sweet Tea: Southern Queer Men’s Collective, a collective of gay and queer men who came to come together to address sexism and misogyny in LGBT communities. In 2015, he was recruited by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to lead a 10 million dollar National Institutes of Health research initiative focusing on improving health outcomes for young Black and Latino men, the Healthy Young Men’s study (HYM).
At the core of Yolo’s work is a commitment to wellness informed by social justice. His interests are the practical embodiment of theory into systems and practices that help heal, transform and support Black communities. He makes his home in Los Angeles, California.
