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Latinos need better access to mental health care
By STEVE PENNThe Kansas City Star
They considered Kansas City the land of opportunity.
When “Ricky” and his parents immigrated from Latin America, they hoped Kansas City would be a place their 15-year-old son could receive the care needed for his special challenges — epilepsy and mild retardation.
But at school, his withdrawn nature was mistaken as “defiance of authority.” After months of dealing with his behavior, the school’s administrator suspended him.
Fortunately, “Ricky” and his parents became involved in Visions With Hope 360 at the Mattie Rhodes Center. The program helps Latino families who have children with developmental disabilities.
The story of “Ricky” is told in a study: “Closing the Mental Health Gap: Eliminating Disparities in Treatment for Latinos.” The study released by the Mattie Rhodes Center illuminates Hispanics’ lack of access to mental health care.
According to the report, Latinos appear to be at a higher risk and may suffer disproportionately from several mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and substance abuse. And Hispanics are the least likely to receive the treatment they need.
How big is the problem?
Of the Latinos in the Kansas City area who responded to the study, 25 percent said they had experienced some type of mental health disorder, primarily depression and anxiety. That’s quite a large number.
The study of more than 1,000 low-income Latinos in three metropolitan areas across the nation found that one-quarter of the respondents had experienced some sort of domestic violence.
When it comes to suicide, the report’s observations were just as sad. Suicide is now the third-leading cause of death among Latino youths 10 to 24.
Latinos who do seek help often end up with ineffective assistance. And while part of the problem can be traced to just getting to a provider, the lack of health insurance also is a barrier.
John Babb, regional health administrator for Region 7 of the Health and Human Services Department, thinks the increase in the number of Latinos in this country, coupled with the lack of enough providers who are culturally competent, make this a critical issue.
“We need people who are Latino in those positions to fully understand the ramification of the issues,” Babb said.
He cited estimates that place the number of medically uninsured Latinos in the United States at around 37 percent. The number of uninsured for the rest of America is at 16 percent. He estimated that only one of 11 Latinos with a mental health disorder will contact a mental health provider.
Babb thinks the Mattie Rhodes Center is a model for other programs.
“Now there’s scientific evidence that programs like Mattie Rhodes do work,” Babb said.
“It’s called targeted mental health services. The great thing about Mattie Rhodes is their providers are passionate, and their patients feel that.”
The report, available at www.mattierhodes.org, is designed to persuade the powers that be to begin to enhance mental health care for Hispanics.
The study is a warning. And it should be required reading for corporations, foundations and politicians who support social services issues.
Too often it takes a public tragedy before the nation wakes up and realizes that steps could have been taken much sooner to prevent a manageable problem from boiling over. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen this time.