Experts call to "rethink mental health care" as depression, anxiety and suicide increase among Latinos

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1. The theme to highlight: The crossroads to prioritize mental health

The mental health crisis among Latinos in the United States that has worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped.

Experts say that it is time for politicians and social leaders to promote seeking help more emphatically and take into account the cultural differences of Hispanics.

Big Picture

: The pandemic has exacerbated mental health care needs.

Latinos in particular reported increases in rates of depression, anxiety and suicide in the US.

• But there aren't enough mental health providers, and there are even fewer professionals who are Latino or who speak Spanish or who can support indigenous populations.

In his own words

: "I think it's important to rethink how we give mental health care. Usually it's getting people to come to our offices or our offices, but it's clearly not working," social work professor David Becerra, from Arizona State University.

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

• It indicates that the adoption of social networks and WhatsApp is very important to serve those who need it during more flexible hours than office hours.

• It is not only necessary to hire more Spanish-speaking experts, Becerra adds, but also to recruit those who speak or at least understand indigenous languages ​​and cultures to help the growing number of immigrants from Central America and Mexico who are native peoples of the hemisphere.

To consider:

Roger Rivera, a nurse in Florida who treats mostly Latino patients, says it is up to the authorities to advocate for improvements in mental health services.

• "I could ask and encourage and raise awareness, but support is needed from much higher up," Rivera said.

Latinos face

cultural stigmas in seeking care.

• Blanca Nereida Valencia, who does administrative work at an Austin, Texas, high school, explains that her family used to say a lot that only "crazy people" went to therapy.

  It wasn't until her parents died of cancer between 2012 and 2015 that she decided to go to therapy despite what she had been told as a child.

[What is behind the wave of sadness and depression suffered by adolescents?]

• "When I went the first time, it was because I was convinced that I was 'broken' and that's why I had to go. But now it saddens me that I came to think that the benefits of therapy are only for those who are supposedly 'broken'," she says Valencia.

  Her first therapist was a non-Hispanic white person who she said sometimes did not understand aspects of her culture.

• Now she goes to a therapist who is also Latina.

  He says that he has helped both her and the way he seeks to help students in her work.

  She is now also part of Contigo Wellness, an organization that helps make mental health services more accessible to underserved communities.

2. Record employment for Hispanics with disabilities

Hispanics with disabilities

in the US they have reached a record employment rate, thanks in part to remote work.

In numbers

: Approximately 35% of Latinos with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 64 were employed between April 2022 and March of this year, according to the Foundation's National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) project. Kessler and the University of New Hampshire.

• The number is higher than from April 2019 to March 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic began), when the employment rate for Hispanics with disabilities was 30%.

• The employment rate for Hispanics with disabilities fell to 27% during the height of the pandemic.

To know

: The accessibility of remote work and the adoption of flexible working hours contributed to the rebound, by facilitating the incorporation of employees with special needs, they explain.

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Yes, but

: In general, regardless of education level, people with disabilities in the US are much less likely to be employed than those who are not living with a disability, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• They're also less likely to earn a living wage: On average, they're paid 66 cents for every dollar earned by people who don't live with a disability, according to the Census Bureau.

  Some people with disabilities are paid less than the minimum wage.

In her own words

: More attention has been paid to workers with disabilities since the pandemic began, in part because more people have developed physical or mental issues as a result of COVID-19 infections, according to a specialist.

"There's been more focus on us in workplace issues," says Michelle Garcia, who works in community development at the nonprofit Access Living.

• But García stresses that many companies are still not open to hiring people with disabilities, or are not yet considering adopting accessibility tools, such as subtitles on video calls or making office cubicles wheelchair-friendly.

• García believes that all companies will improve the situation of all their employees and the productivity if they make an accessibility budget and, above all, if they take into account when hiring someone's skills and experience and not only if they have a disability.

• "If you're inclusive of one person who works for you, that means they'll be inclusive of everyone else who walks through your door," he explains.

3. Mexico debates shortening its work week

Mexico is one of the countries where people work the most hours a year.

Now Congress is discussing shortening the work week from 48 to 40 hour weeks... but not everyone agrees.

News momentum

: The bill was approved in committee last week and, according to legislators, it will have enough votes for approval by the plenary when the legislative session resumes in September.

• Mexico would thus follow the Chilean example.

  The Congress of that country approved in mid-April a law to gradually reduce the work week from 45 to 40 hours by 2028 at the latest. The president, Gabriel Boric, said that it will improve the general well-being.

• In Mexico, reducing the work week would give workers one more day off per week.

  More than 40% of Mexicans work six days, according to the national statistics institute INEGI.

Representative skulls of workers with long hours during a Labor Day march in Mexico City, May 1, 2022Luis Barrón/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images

General panorama

: The measures of Mexico and Chile occur when other countries have gone even further.

Several UK companies have officially adopted a four-day work week, for example.

In many parts of Europe and the United States the average work week is 36 to 40 hours.

• By comparison, several Latin American countries rank in the top five for the most hours worked, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

• In Mexico, the average annual hours worked was 2,128 in 2021 (the latest year for which data is available).

  In Costa Rica there were 2,073 and in Chile 1,916;

  the US average was 1,791.

However, business groups in Mexico

 oppose the proposal to reduce the work week, arguing that it would mainly affect small and medium-sized companies because they would need to hire more people without necessarily having the money to do so.

• They also say the rule, as written, gives little leeway because it would be implemented immediately.

• While in Chile companies can implement it gradually until the deadline of 2028.

In her own words

: "We want workers to work to live, not live to work," Congresswoman Susana Prieto Terrazas, who presented the proposal, told Telemundo News. 

4. Biden names Latina leader as ambassador

President Joe Biden has nominated Nathalie Rayes, head of a progressive voting group, as US ambassador to Croatia.

Details

: Rayes is a naturalized Venezuelan-Lebanese immigrant;

she came to the United States when she was 10 years old.

• Rayes has been the President and Director of Latino Victory since 2020.

Nathalie RayesAlexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Latino Victory Project.

• Latino Victory is a left-wing organization that works to strengthen Latino political power by increasing their political participation and representation.

  The group was co-founded by actress Eva Longoria and businessman Henry R. Muñoz III.

• Rayes is also on the board of directors of the United States Institute of Peace, a federal nonprofit organization that does conflict analysis, mediation proposals, and compiles best practices for truth and reconciliation commissions.

In her own words

: "Nathalie has a proven track record of championing issues affecting the Latino community across the country and the world," said Luis A. Miranda, Jr., Latino Victory Board of Directors, in a release.

• "We are confident that she will carry this legacy into her new role as ambassador to the Republic of Croatia," she added. 

5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

1. Brazilian authorities raided

 the residence of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday morning during an investigation into whether he falsified medical records.

• They say the Health Ministry's database of COVID-19 vaccination records was tampered with just before Bolsonaro left power and traveled to Florida.

  In order to enter the US, it is required to have the full COVID vaccination;

  Bolsonaro repeatedly dismissed medical advice on the importance of getting immunized.

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

2. The trial against Guatemalan journalist

 José Rubén Zamora began this week almost a year after he was arrested for alleged money laundering, which could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

• He denies the charges and has described himself as a political prisoner.

  The United States and various NGOs say that Zamora is being persecuted for practicing journalism.

• Zamora is editor of elPeriódico, a newspaper that has published articles on government corruption. 

Pachanga Thursday

Congratulations to Ana María Ruimonte for the release of her latest album,

Ana María Ruimonte and Ernesto LecuonaPhoto courtesy of Alan Lewine.

Background Illustration by Axios Visuals

• The album features music by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona and has some zarzuelas about the experience of Afro-descendants in Cuba.

• Alan Lewine, CEO of Owlsong Production, the label that released the album, wrote to tell us about Ruimonte's music.

  Congratulations to those involved!

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