CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Mental health summit highlights struggles in Hall's Latino community

The Gainesville Times - 5/5/2023

May 5—Hall County's Hispanic and Latino population is disproportionately impacted by today's mental health crisis.

That was the prevailing message conveyed by Hall County School System's Project AWARE Grant Manager Jenny Chapple at a Youth Mental Health and Resiliency Summit at First Presbyterian in Gainesville Thursday.

In 2021, Hall County had the third largest Hispanic or Latino population as a percentage of its total population in the state.

According to Chapple, greater numbers of at-risk youth within Hall's Latino community are afflicted with issues of mental health due to major disparities in available resources compared to other demographics.

"(Mental health crises) are across the board with youth — but especially with our Latino community," Chapple said. "There's a lot that influences that...I think systemically, being Hispanic and migrant, you are marginalized and there isn't the same equity and access to these resources historically, but we're trying to bridge that gap."

Mental Health Awareness Month

The United Way is advocating this May for mental health

awareness in several different ways, including this youth and stakeholder summit.

The Times is participating in this work as well, including not just the

coverage of this event but other initiatives. Here's an overview of some of the

efforts and opportunities this month:

* Get trained to help

those experiencing a mental health crisis. Sign

up here. Businesses

can sign up here.

* Wear green on Mental

Health Action Day

* Watch for Green Street,

including The Times, to light up green

* Watch for more coverage

this month on mental health resources in our community

While there's no instant solution to tackle an issue with systemic roots, Chapple said the Hall County School System has long been taking steps to address the current crisis among this faction of the community's youth. The goal, she said, is to create wider availability of knowledge and resources to these students and their families.

"There's not going to be one thing that's going to fix it all," she said. "One thing we are trying to do is host QPR (Question Persuade Refer) training — another evidence-based suicide prevention tool that's really accessible. Instead of being an eight-hour training, where families have to give up a workday...it can be virtual — or it can be 60 minutes to three hours...to teach (families) risk factors and tools of how to ask difficult questions."

The school system's plan was to train 60 people a year, Chapple said, and already a total of 120 have received the training since January.

"We're going to keep going with that, and it's been very well received," she said. "...I think we've had a superintendent who has always been very proactive in mental health for the faculty and students to be well-equipped."

Chapple said other plans to contribute to the dialogue regarding mental health are still in the works, stating, "We are very much in the beginning stages of implementing new programs, and we want to be able to do that effectively...to have it become a common language across our community."

In recognition of mental health awareness month, Caleb Campbell, a former linebacker with the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, shared his own mental health struggles with those in attendance Thursday.

Campbell, 38, said he's spoken at hundreds of schools across the U.S. and that the mental health crisis among the nation's youth is clear. Campbell's message to those who struggle with issues of mental health was also clear — forming deeper connections in general is key to finding "peace and satisfaction."

"(Chapple) and their team have done a wonderful job at creating these environments...the birthplace of finding a life we love is found in our willingness to connect deeper — not only with ourselves but with each other," he said. "There is no connection without a willingness to show up and allow yourself to be seen."

___

(c)2023 The Times, Gainesville, Ga.

Visit The Times, Gainesville, Ga. at www.gainesvilletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.