The assumption is almost always money. If someone in a Black community isn't getting access to treatment, the reason "must be" that they can't afford it.

Rick Hubbard has a hard piece of evidence against that. There was a nonprofit, state-funded treatment center where care cost nothing at all, and the problem existed at that level just the same.

What's actually in the way is often shame and stigma attached to acknowledging there's a problem at all. And for generations, the church has been the cornerstone—the first and often only place a family brings anything difficult. That shapes more than where someone goes for help...it shapes how the problem gets named and what gets blamed for it.

These are natural barriers, built into how difficulty gets talked about rather than obstacles anyone put there on purpose, which is why they're so easy to miss. Rick has had this conversation with clinicians deeply committed to helping anyone who walks through the door, and found many of them genuinely surprised the barriers exist.

None of it dismisses cost. Plenty of people are kept out of care by their circumstances. But a program built around money alone will keep missing the people who never make the call.

With host Michael Herbert, Rick talks through what he learned taking outreach and community education directly into African American communities.

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This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance.