CDC: Minority communities dealing with mental health issues at record numbers

According to the report, non-Hispanic Black adults visited the emergency room for any mental health-related concern at an annual average rate of 97 visits per 1,000 adults from 2018 to 2020, which is nearly double the rate of the national average.

News 12 Staff

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Mar 7, 2023, 3:30 AM

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Updated 507 days ago

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The number of Black adults seeking help for mental health issues is at a record high, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the report, non-Hispanic Black adults visited the emergency room for any mental health-related concern at an annual average rate of 97 visits per 1,000 adults from 2018 to 2020, which is nearly double the rate of the national average.

Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Nassau County Jeffrey McQueen says the numbers are alarming, but also "severely underrated."

He says the numbers only highlight emergency room visits, which means a majority of the visits were brought on because of a physical symptom of a mental health issue like shortness of breath or chest pains.

McQueen, who has dealt with substance abuse firsthand, says in order for people in the Black community to reach out for help, it has to be because they know there's help and there's nothing wrong with asking for it.

"It will be no different than when you stub your toe," McQueen says. "Because there's no stigma around you being clumsy."

Long Island's Latino community is also seeing an increase in demand for mental health services.

CEO of the Hispanic Counseling Center on Long Island Claudia Boyle says they are also facing challenges regarding people in the community reaching out for help.

"When you take the Latino population, not all of them are uneducated, not all of them are illegal, but the reality is the immigration status is an issue," Boyle says.

She says the counseling center's phone are still ringing off the hooks lately.

The CDC estimates that one in every five adults lived with a mental health disorder in 2020, but less than half of those got treatment that year.

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