The African American teen suicide rate was already rising far faster than for white teens. Now these 'quaranteens' of color have to deal with the COVID-19 death toll in black communities, social isolation and the 'vicarious trauma' of police violence.
WASHINGTON – A decade after she tried to take her life as a college freshman, Victoria Waltz, a gifted child who played the harp, is only beginning to understand how things got so bad.
Spear had suicidal thoughts by third grade, compounded by her parents’ separation, strict teachers and her mother's career and graduate studies, which sometimes kept her from home until late at night. "Suicide is sort of the tip of an iceberg," said Hayling-Williams."There are so many challenging conditions leading up to that. Take extreme depression, anxiety and grief and add the increased reports of child abuse, neglect and domestic violence the child is likely witnessing because they would have been at school."
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., introduced the Pursuing Mental Health Equity Act of 2020 when the Congressional Black Caucus' report came out in December. There was little movement once coronavirus hit. Now the House Appropriations Committee member is citing the dual traumas of coronavirus and urban violence to argue for similar boosts in research and access to mental health treatment for minorities in COVID-19 funding measures.
Dr. Joycelyn Elders, a pediatrician who was surgeon general under President Bill Clinton, said the life stressors for African American youth, particularly those in low income households, makes it even more “amazing that they survive.", after he learned childhood friend Kenny Serrano attempted suicide a decade earlier. Massa had no idea and knew little about depression or suicide.
It wasn’t until her teen daughter was facing depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide, that Warner turned to the group. Members gave her advice and encouragement on how to connect with her child."Hearing words of affirmation" and knowing resources were available helped her and her daughter find treatment that worked. The social isolation has actually helped some and with medication and therapy, her daughter is thriving.
Her mother found her after she attempted suicide with prescription pills in the bathroom. She was rushed to the hospital. Waltz doesn't remember if she was officially diagnosed there with depression, but she was referred to a counselor at Howard – a service she had no idea existed. She went for about two months and then stopped. She wasn't encouraged to go back.
Hankerson, a assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, works with black churches on mental health outreach. Many churches offer their clergy the option to become certified in, a program that certifies people to be"first responders" when they detect mental illness symptoms in others.
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