Organizations are helping Black veterans facing mental health challenges get the help they need.

The Department of Veterans Affairs found Black veterans may be more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than their White counterparts. However, an internal VA report as part of an open records lawsuit shows Black veterans were more often denied benefits for PTSD.

Walidah Bennett founded the Multi-Faith Veterans Initiative at DePaul University after losing her son Saad Muhammad, a veteran, to suicide 10 years ago.

“What we don’t talk about is the moral injury,” Bennett said. “That is what many veterans carry and that oftentimes is what leads them to take their own lives.”

MVI helps faith-based and social service organizations develop spaces for veterans to connect with resources in their community as they transition from military service.

The initiative has 14 hubs throughout several communities in the Chicagoland area.The organization also has an area of focus on addressing the specific issues female veterans face.

Emanuel “Manny” Johnson, chairman of the Black Veterans Coalition, served in the Navy as an information systems technician for six and a half years. Johnson said Black veterans can face barriers to receiving benefits and services through the VA.

“It’s difficult to sit across from somebody who doesn’t understand your experiences prior to the service, as well your experiences as an African American service member in the service, and try to talk to them about the disability claims that you have,” Johnson said.

Johnson said better supporting Black veterans with mental health issues can look like further training faith-based organizations and predominantly Black community organizations on how they can work with veterans in their communities. He also suggested asking in applications whether a person is a veteran in order to identify and connect people with resources.