Responding to the extremely high suicide rate among Latinas living in the Bronx, NYC, Dr. Rosa Gil, president and CEO of Comunilife, is leading a program called Life Is Precious to address the underlying issues that leave girls feeling hopeless and alone.
Currently 11 percent of Latinas in the country attempt suicide. In New York City, the overall rate is 15 percent. But in the Bronx and Brooklyn, Latina suicide attempts total a staggering 22 percent – double the national rate. Dr. Gil said many Latino families in these areas are in crisis, and face economic, housing and other stressors. In addition, there has been some anti-Hispanic sentiment in the Bronx and Brooklyn that seems to have added an element of fear for many families.
Importantly, Life is Precious is based on input from the community. “We first focused on qualitative research where we asked parents and regular citizens what they believed causes the problems among Latinas. We asked what they believed would be needed to solve the problem, and what steps should be taken” to reverse the trend, Dr. Gil told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, DC this month.
“What we found is that children acculturate much faster than their parents. We found that mothers rely on traditional cultural values and expectations, and that they often idealize how they grew up in their own countries,” Dr. Gil said. “These mothers don’t want their daughters to go out. They don’t want them to have boyfriends. They want them to grow up like they grew up.”
Dr. Gil said she also found that schools and mental health systems weren’t helpful to Latinas in crises. Many schools are not equipped with staff who speak Spanish, she said. When their children translate for them, parents are at a disadvantage. The hierarchy of respect and control shifts, and the parents become dependent on their children rather than the other way around. With many mental health systems, complicated procedures and expectations often dissuade Latino parents and children from seeking help. Further, while prescribed medications may be acceptable in the culture at large, they are often seen by Hispanics as a path to addiction and additional behavioral issues.
“The girls themselves came up with the name Life Is Precious,” Dr. Gil explained. They said they needed a safe place to talk about their problems. They recommended an Internet Cafe, tutors to guide them through their homework, and educational programs to help them succeed in school. The girls also said there was a need to help their mothers understand the challenges their daughters face.
To date, about 150 girls have participated in Life is Precious. Of those, all have improved academically, and where the norm is for one of every five girls to attempt suicide, only two of the Life is Precious participants have repeated a suicide attempt “We administer pre-tests and post-tests to all program participants, Dr. Gil said. “The facts show that this program is working. It’s rewarding to see these girls succeed.”
For more information about Life Is Precious, a community defined, evidence practice, visit www.communilife.org.