In these turbulent times, caring for one’s mental and emotional health is more vital than ever. However, avoiding unhealthy coping mechanisms that can lead to addiction issues and other forms of self-harm can be hard under stress. BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people are even more at risk, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
One respected grass-roots organization in South Los Angeles is focused on changing that narrative. Originally founded by Dr. Carl Highshaw as a recovery program, AMAAD (Arming Minorities Against Addiction & Disease) has expanded to provide multiple programs, events and services for Black, Latine and LGBTQ+ communities.
AMAAD’s executive director, Gerald Garth is a devoted advocate for the health and wellbeing of people from marginalized communities.
“I moved to Los Angeles in April 2013 from Baton Rouge, La., originally relocating to write and to act after working years in accounting. While still writing and acting, I wanted to deepen my impact. And with a complete career change at 30 years old, I joined the Black AIDS Institute [BAI] as a part-time administrative and finance assistant,” Garth says. “My role soon expanded into communications. As a writer, I was thrilled for the opportunity to write and eventually served as contributing editor of the Black AIDS Weekly, then the nation’s most read HIV/AIDS newsletter.
Before long, Garth began contributing to magazines like Essence, Sheen and a standing column in Heart & Soul called “Positive,” which highlighted Black women doing great work within the HIV movement. He went on to serve as the award-winning editor in chief of Chill magazine, “the premiere print, digital, and social brand for the millennial man of color, for its entire run,” he says.
During his time at BAI, Garth’s role expanded. He eventually established and oversaw the organization’s first HIV testing program and traveled the country, “collaborating on groundbreaking work, bridging gaps, and building relationships with other dynamic leaders.”
Garth joined the AMAAD team in October 2017 and has since helped grow its services portfolio to include support for housing, substance and addiction, behavioral and mental health, HIV services, reentry services, policy and advocacy, and programs centered on building community. He’s held several positions there, working up to his current role as executive director. Under his leadership, AMAAD has grown from a team of three people to 40 — and it continues to grow.
“AMAAD takes a whole-person approach. That is a holistic method that considers all aspects of a person’s well-being. AMAAD goes beyond only looking at physical symptoms and needs, but looks to address emotional, social and spiritual factors that contribute to overall health,” Garth explains. “We also recognize that all these elements of a person’s life intersect, and the same can be said of service provision. One cannot have sustainable recovery support without sustainable housing. One cannot have sustainable HIV care without strong mental health. Housing is HIV care. Behavioral health is recovery support, and the list goes on.”
“For so long, providers and organizations have aimed to serve conditions, but to be most effective, we must see people as full human beings with rich and meaningful intersections,” he says. “Providers and community-based organizations must look at the intersection of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, class and the host of other identities in which people navigate the world. I say all the time, ‘We are the experts of our own experience.’”
This year, AMAAD celebrates 10 years of service and launching “Health, Housing, and Hope,” a yearlong campaign of programs and opportunities to support.
“We all have a role in the health, wellness, celebration and sustainability of our communities. Find yours,” Garth concludes. “I live by the phrase, ‘None of us have to do everything, if all of us do something.’”
