COMMUNITY LEADERS LOOK TO CURB SUICIDE RATE OF BLACK BOYS
Study shows violence, poverty fueling trend
Fearing that street violence and poverty are fueling an increasing suicide rate among young black boys, Hub community leaders are looking to curb the disturbing trend by tackling the issue at its root and spreading awareness about the many resources available to those who may find themselves or a family member losing hope.
Faced with a recent Journal of the American Medical Association study showing that while the nation’s overall suicide rate has remained steady over the past 20 years, the rate among black boys between the ages of 5 and 11 doubled between 1993 and 2013, Boston NAACP President Michael Curry said his organization has “made black mental health and related issues our primary focus for the next year.”
Emmett Folgert of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative agreed that the best way to stem the tide is to create an environment where people feel comfortable talking openly about suicide and to alleviate the issues that researchers believe are causing young black boys to turn to suicide.
“It’s not talked a lot about. Families are very quiet about suicide,” Folgert said, adding, “These kids have been victims, witnesses to violence just based on where they live. … Where you see gang-on-gang violence, you’re going to have people who are traumatized.”
In addition to showcasing the growing suicide rate — which ranked as the 14th-highest cause of death among black children between 1993 to 1997 but rose to ninth between 2008 to 2012 — the JAMA Pediatrics study also found that the disproportionately high exposure to violence, traumatic incidents at home and aggressive school discipline may be intensifying the problem.
Darnell Williams, director of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, agreed, saying that many members of the black community, including young children, are faced “every day” by the kind of stressors that can leave them feeling hopeless and that the best solution is to be “hyper aware” with a “focus on prevention.”
“These kids have multiple barriers in their lives,” Williams said. “It affects their ability to cope.”
Kevin C. Peterson of the Boston-based New Democracy Coalition, applauded Mayor Martin J. Walsh for launching a partnership between the city and the local suicide prevention nonprofit Samaritans of Boston, and said he hopes the increased focus on educating workers who come face-to-face with members of the city’s most at-risk populations — including young black boys — will have a major impact.
“Very few options are available to young, poor black men who find themselves in real need of services for depression and mental health issues,” Peterson said, adding that the surging suicide rate among young boys is oftentimes “exacerbated by income inequality.”