Suicide rate among Hispanics worrisome
Group leader: ‘We want to do something about it’
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”
DALTON, Ga. – A group from teens to seniors gathered in an office inside a grocery store, where Spanish-language food signs cater to the large Hispanic population in this northwestern Georgia city dominated by the carpet industry.
At America Gruner’s Tuesday-night meetings, about a dozen people sit on makeshift furniture and tell their often emotional stories of mental health crisis and suicide. Gruner, 64, formed the support group in 2019 after three Latinos ages 17 to 22 died by suicide here over a two-week period.
“We couldn’t wait for research,” said Gruner, founder of the Coalición de Líderes Latinos. “We wanted to do something about it.”
That said, the data is already coming in. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s provisional numbers for 2022 show a record high of nearly 50,000 suicide deaths for all racial and ethnic groups.
Grim statistics from KFF show that the rise has been more pronounced among communities of color. From 2011 to 2021, the suicide rate among Hispanics jumped from 5.7 to 7.9 per 100,000 people.
For Hispanic children 12 and younger, the rate increased 92.3% from 2010 to 2019, according to a study published in the Journal of Community Health. Ser Familia, a social services organization in metro Atlanta, said it has seen alarming numbers of Hispanic children who report having suicidal thoughts.
It’s a problem seen coast to coast, in both urban and rural communities.
Stress piles up on young people
Mental health experts said there are many social and economic pressures on minority groups. For Hispanics, who may be of any race, cultural and systemic obstacles may also be at play.
Immigrant children are often expected to take more responsibility when their parents don’t speak English. Many live in poorer households with family members who don’t have legal residency. And cultural barriers and language may prevent many from seeking care in a mental health system that already has spotty access.
“Our kids are interpreters, they pay bills, go to medical appointments,” increasing their stress and anxiety, said Belisa Urbina, CEO of Ser Familia.
The Latino Community Fund Georgia also pinpoints stress linked to immigration worries. A study of Latino adolescents ages 11 to 16 found the detention or deportation of a family member was associated with significantly higher odds of suicidal thoughts.
“There are waves of immigrants coming as minors, displaced and sometimes not with immediate caregivers,” said Diane Elias, vice president of behavioral health at the Children’s Institute in Los Angeles. “This can put hefty burden on children. They are expected, as minors, to balance self-financing and earning money to support family or help them immigrate to the U.S.”
Furthermore, mental illness can also be culturally taboo.
Obstacles and solutions
Language remains a significant barrier. In July, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline added a text and chat service in Spanish, but a spokesperson for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration acknowledged more work needs to be done to reach communities at risk.
“We have a tremendous need for bilingual mental health providers in Georgia,” said Pierluigi Mancini, CEO of the Multicultural Development Institute.
Gruner is aware of only three bilingual providers in her area – a county that is more than one-third Hispanic.
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in Los Angeles offers a Spanish-language suicide helpline. “When we answer the calls in Spanish, you can hear that relief on the other end,” said program coordinator Alejandra Vargas. “That, ‘Yes, they’re going to understand me.’”
And bias can add another obstacle. Nirmita Panchal, a senior policy analyst for KFF, said mental health symptoms of children of color “may be mistakenly characterized as disruptive behaviors.”
A recent Rand Corp. study used secret shoppers to schedule mental health appointments in California. About 1 in 5 Spanish-language calls ended with the scheduler hanging up or informing the caller that no one was available to assist in Spanish.
Across the country, mental health professionals, researchers and Hispanic leaders point to several ways to reduce suicide.
It’s crucial that more funding goes toward mental health generally, including prevention programs that recognize cultural, legal and language needs, said Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor at New Mexico State University.
For now, some local leaders are filling gaps by doing community work, such as Gruner and her support group.
Miguel Serricchio of Santa Clarita, California, facilitates bilingual support groups for people whose lives have been rocked by suicide. His son, Alex, took his own life in 2016.
“I wanted to get the word out,” Serricchio said.