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Rep. Napolitano, Experts Examine State of Latino Mental Health

September 13, 2010

(Washington D.C.)- Today, Rep. Grace Napolitano hosted a panel on Latino mental health as part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s public policy conference. Panel members including Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Administrator Pamela Hyde, President of the American Psychological Association Dr. Melba Vasquez, Director of the Multicultural Action Center at the National Alliance on Mental Illness Majose Carrasco, and Executive Director of the Alliance for Latino Behavioral Health Workforce Development Henry Acosta, surveyed a range of mental health challenges facing the Latino community, including stigma preventing many from seeking help, lack of access to linguistically and culturally appropriate services, and the chronic shortage of qualified mental health professionals.

“Mental health has long been ignored, and we have to continue de-stigmatizing the issue and pushing it forward,” Napolitano said. “Mental health does not discriminate: it affects all of us regardless of race, class, or gender, and Latinos are no exception.”

“Behavioral health is part of health,” Hyde said. “If we had a person walking around who was bleeding and nobody was helping them there would be outrage, but when there is emotional bleeding no one knows what to do. And it is preventable. A lot of people don’t know it yet, but addiction, substance abuse, and mental disorders can be prevented.”

“Mental health disorders, left untreated, lead to serious and tragic outcomes,” Vasquez said. “And unfortunately many Latinos go without due to a variety of barriers, including stigma, lack of bilingual professionals and culturally appropriate services.”

Hispanic girls have an attempted suicide rate 60% higher than their white counterparts. From 2004 to 2007, an average of 15.6% (1 in 7) Hispanic/Latino 18-25 year olds reported serious psychological distress, but only 28% of those had received care in the past 12 months. Latinos have a higher incidence of mental distress but lower access to care, with one-third lacking healthcare compared to less than 19% for whites.

“At the local, county, state and federal level we have to work to get the bilingual services we need, and take away the fear of mental health that exists in the Latino community,” Napolitano said. “Especially with the macho guys, we have to have more people stepping forward and saying it’s ok to seek help. Ron Artest did it, God bless him, and we need more of that.”

Last Thursday Napolitano and L.A. Laker Ron Artest spoke to middle school students to destimgatize mental health in Montebello, California. Artest is a proponent of HR 2531, the Mental Health in Schools Act, a bill authored by Napolitano that provides on-site, culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health therapy and counseling in schools.

Napolitano is the co-chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus.

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