Over 40% of Latino adults have reported symptoms of depression during the pandemic
13 May 2021
Over 40% of Latino adults have reported symptoms of depression during the pandemic, in contrast to 25% of white non-Hispanics, the CDC reports.
Why it matters: The emotional distress is especially acute for Latinos who had COVID-19, some of them tell Noticias Telemundo.
Between the lines: Latinos tend to seek treatment reluctantly, struggling to admit help is needed.
- When added to barriers to health care, like lack of insurance or a perception of discrimination from doctors, the ordeal can intensify suicidal thoughts.
- The most prevalent mental health issues are anxiety, depression, PTSD and related substance abuse, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America.
By the numbers: A third of Hispanics with a mental health disorder get treatment, per the Department of Health and Human Services, compared to 45% of non-Hispanics in the U.S.
- Only 7% of licensed psychologists in the U.S. identify as Latino, according to the American Psychological Association, while even fewer, 5.5% of therapists, are able to provide services in Spanish.
What they’re saying: “Within the community there are stereotypes of 'esa persona está loca,' that person is crazy — the stigma that if you are sad or anxious you are weak. Unless we create proper services to combat that and to approach communities of color, these will become lifelong problems for many,” physician Ilan Shapiro tells Telemundo’s Radar.
Driving the news: Farmworkers, many of whom are Latino, have been especially affected.
- As essential workers during the pandemic, farmworkers kept stores stocked with produce.
- An American Farm Bureau poll released in December showed that 66% of farmworkers said the pandemic has affected their mental health.
- Justice for Migrant Women president Mónica Ramírez and actress-activist Eva Longoria, with her foundation, have created a program, "Healing Voices," to provide mental health services to 3 million farmworkers.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255 in English, 1-888-628-9454 en español) provides 24/7, free, confidential support.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.