News

The Trevor Project released new data that outline just how much the larger social and political currents coursing through society today — from proposed discriminatory anti-trans legislation to the effects of racism to concerns over school safety and gun violence — are greatly affecting the mental health and overall well-being of LGBTQ+ youth.

Casey Pick, JD, senior fellow for Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project, told Healthline that she can’t say it’s surprising to see how things like the current “onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation” can affect an LGBTQ+ young person’s mental health.

But she said it is helpful to have data like this to quantify how it’s impacting youth across the country. By seeing this data and hearing from these young people themselves, it can offer a window into how best to serve LGBTQ+ youth and what more needs to be done in our society at large.

Among the findings, 85 percent of the transgender and nonbinary young people surveyed reported that the recent national debates around proposed state laws that target the rights of transgender people have “negatively impacted their mental health,” according to a press release from The Trevor Project. Additionally, 66 percent of all LGBTQ+ youth surveyed also reported that news of this anti-trans legislation had a negative impact on their overall mental health.

The survey also asked an open-ended question: “What social issue impacting our country/world is most important to you?”

Most youth surveyed — across race, ethnicity, and gender identity — declared racism was at the top of their list. This was followed by LGBTQ rights and equality, climate change, and homophobia. The Trevor Project reports that more than 65 percent of LGBTQ youth reported that police brutality, transphobia, gun violence, climate change, and “efforts to restrict abortion access” were also regular sources of anxiety and stress.

Read more at Healthline.com.

A 2019 study found that in the U.S., Latinos access mental health care at nearly half the rate of non-Hispanic white people. Shame and stigma play a huge role in discouraging folks from seeking mental health support in our communities — not to mention talking about it with loved ones.

As hard as it can be to bring up, there’s power and freedom that comes from feeling safe in your mind and your body, and at home. The more aware you are of your specific mental health struggles and needs, the better you will be able to communicate those needs to others. To start, understand that mental health isn’t stagnant and can change as your life changes. How you understood your mental health before might not be how you understand it now.

After you have a better understanding of your mental health, the next step is to establish why you want to talk about it with your family. You may not feel that sharing this part of your life is important, and that’s OK. But for those who do, this step is essential.

For others, they want to talk about mental health at home because it helps to normalize the conversation as well as break down stigmas. Have you ever heard “el dicho,” “la ropa sucia se lava en casa” (don’t air your dirty laundry in public) or heard a family member shaming a relative with a diagnosis by calling them “loco”? These are all cultural stigmas prevalent in the Latino community.

And while it’s easy to laugh about — and maybe even bond over — these shared traumas, we can’t deny the real-world implications these ideas have on our collective well-being. It’s through open and honest conversations with the people around us that we can help shatter these outdated narratives.

Read more at KQED.org.

The Chinese American Service League has launched a mental health services program in Chinatown.

The agency’s Behavioral Health and Clinical Services program will provide mental health evaluations, psychotherapy, and crisis response, among other services, according to a news release.

The Chinese American Service League created the program to address rising rates of mental health issues affecting people in the community, as rising levels of anti-Asian hate and pandemic anxiety and depression have affected Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, according to the news release.

The program will complement work from other area mental health programs. And its offerings will grow “to best meet the needs of the families and individuals it will serve,” according to the Chinese American Service League.

Clients will be able to use the program’s services in person, virtually, or through telehealth appointments.

Read more at BlockClubChicago.org.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy identified the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ (EBCI) 56,000-acre homeland just south of Smoky Mountains National Park, as one of 10 “high-intensity drug trafficking areas” in the country. Following a two-year undercover investigation targeting drug traffickers, federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities raided the Boundary, arrested 132 people. The operation was touted as a huge success and a possible turning point in the scourge that had plagued the community.

Instead of improving, the community’s drug problems only got worse. Drug-related crimes and addiction rates continued apace and, like everywhere else in the state, grew worse during the pandemic. Statewide, deaths from drug overdoses increased more than 25 percent in the first six months of the pandemic, according to CDC data. Almost immediately, the lockdown on the Boundary led to a dramatic increase in fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses.

There is a growing acknowledgement among treatment and drug policy experts that real solutions must center around prevention and treatment which include mental health counseling, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), as well as the time and support needed to recover.

American Indians represent just 1.2 percent of North Carolina’s population, but the 2020 drug overdose rate was 2.3 times higher for them than the white people in the state. To address this crisis, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians oversees and operates its own public health care system and provides some of the most extensive substance use and mental health care of any tribe in the nation without copays or deductibles.

Read more NorthCarolinaHealthNews.org.

Mental health coach Paige Gaines is sharing her story as part of A Different Cry, a three-part docuseries and investigation into Black youth and suicide by WXIA in Atlanta.

“The numbers have continued to rise since about 2016, 2017,” Gaines says, noting studies based on recent CDC figures, which were highlighted in a 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. “That’s what led me to this. African American men, African American boys are more likely to attempt suicide than white men and white boys. African American females and African American young girls are attempting higher as well. So, it’s been a continuous rise in numbers.”

Yet discussing suicide and therapy remains taboo within the Black community. It’s a challenge that Gaines — who works with Mental Health America of Georgia as a Certified Peer Specialist — wants to overcome.

Asked what concerned friends and family should do if they suspect that a loved one is feeling suicidal, she has a simple solution — just ask them.

“There’s a myth that if you ask it, you’re implanting that idea in their mind and that’s not true,” Gaines says. “You’re actually creating some relief for them. You’re saying, ‘Hey, I see you. I see that you’re struggling and I’m just wondering if you’re thinking of not wanting to be here anymore.'”

“[By asking] that question, you’re able to offer that individual resources, immediately asking them what they need,” she adds. “You’re able to step in before they have an attempt and potentially save a life. I’ve never had the experience of somebody being offended by me asking that question.”

Read more at People.com.

Teen suicide and depression rates amid the pandemic are as alarming as deaths from COVID-19, but few mental health resources are available to address this shadow pandemic, especially within communities of color.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Asian American children between the ages of 15 and 24. Black children between the ages of 5 and 12 are twice as likely to die by suicide as White children of the same age. Amid the pandemic, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered or attempted suicide, including more than half of transgender and non-binary youth. Children as young as 8 have attempted suicide.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on December 7, 2021, highlighting the need to address the youth mental health crisis. Early estimates in 2020 show 6,600 youth suicide deaths in 2020, a 57 percent jump over the previous decade. 40 percent of children ages 10-24 expressed feelings of sadness and hopelessness. The Surgeon General noted that disabled, low-income, and homeless youth, along with minorities and LGBTQ youth had suffered from greater rates of depression.

Many youth may want to access mental health services, but they have to struggle with their parents for parents, who may not understand the importance of counseling and mental health for their well-being.

Read more at LAFocusNewspaper.com.