In the Darkness - Suicide Awareness

This episode is dedicated to all of the souls who could not find the light, who were stuck in the darkness and never made it out.  Suicide rates among Black children and teenagers are rising at an alarming rate and challenging public perceptions that Black youth don’t commit suicide.  Tonight we take a look at these frightening and grim statistics and give you some tools to help your child or a loved one who might be suffering in silence. In June 2020, a CDC –Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - survey of more than five-thousand people – adults age 18 and above showed 40 percent reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse, and 11 percent seriously considered suicide. (Reference https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm)  2019 statistics released by the CDC –Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed:   • Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall the in United States, claiming the lives of over 47, 500 people.  • The second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, the fourth leading cause among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44  • And there were nearly two and a half times as many suicides (47,511) in the United States as there were homicides (19,141).  Alarmingly, statistics also show that the suicide death rate among Black youth has increased faster than any other racial or ethnic group.     In April of 2019, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) set up the Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health. A report released showed an alarming increase in the suicide rates among Black children and teenagers over the past several years, contradicting historical data showing lower rates of suicide among Black Americans and challenging the public perception that Black youth don’t commit suicide.  Statistical data shows a different reality:  • Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Black children ages 10 to 19 (resource National Institute of Mental Health)  • Black and African American teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than White teenagers (9.8% v. 6.1%) (resource U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health)  • 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 (resource World Health Organization)  • Actual suicide death rates for Black girls ages 13 to 19 increased by 182% from 2001 to 2017 (resource 2019 study published in the Journal of Community Health)  • Black children had 37% fewer visits to psychiatrists and 47% fewer visits to any mental health professional compared to white children. (resource International Journal of Health Services) COME INTO THE LIGHT. ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE COUCH??