LATINO COMMUNITY.

>>> ALEX, THE LATINO COMMUNITY, MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL ILLNESS ARE OFTEN STIGMATIZED, CAUSING SOME TO NOT SEEK THE CARE THEY NEED.

ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS, MORE THAN HALF OF ADULTS AGES 18 TO 25 WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES MAY NOT RECEIVE TREATMENT.

ADVOCATES HAVE BEEN PUSHING FOR THE EXPANSION OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN LATINO COMMUNITIES FOR YEARS.

JOINING US TO TALK MORE ABOUT THEIR EFFORTS TO BRIDGE THE GAP ON MENTAL HEALTH ARE MARILYN RODRIGUEZ, BILINGUAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST AND COMMUNITY LIAISON , AND RICARDO CAMACHO, FOUNDER OF THE ORGANIZATION .

THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US TODAY.

NOW, WE HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT, AND MARILYN, I WANT TO START WITH YOU.

YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED IN THE WEST SIDE OF CHICAGO.

TELL ME WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT WITH YOU TO GET INTO THE MENTAL HEALTH.

>> GROWING UP, I MEAN, SIMILAR TO MOST OF US, RIGHT, I'M FIRST-GENERATION.

THERE WAS A LACK OF RESOURCES, LACK OF SUPPORT, AND SO I NEEDED GUIDANCE, AND OFTEN TIMES, I DIDN'T FIND PEOPLE THAT LOOKED LIKE ME OR SHARED MY BACKGROUND.

AND SO BEING ABLE TO GUIDE YOU IN THIS FIELD, GIVEN MY OWN EXPERIENCES, YOU KNOW, IS POWERFUL.

>> AND RICARDO, I WANT TO ASK YOU A SIMILAR QUESTION.

YOU'RE CURRENTLY AT COLLEGE.

AT WHAT POINT IN YOUR CAREER DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO WORK WITH YOUTH?

>> FROM MY EXPERIENCES, YOU KNOW, GOING OVER, YOU KNOW, 10 SCHOOLS, 10 SCHOOLS, THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICES WITH THE SCHOOLS.

AND JUST ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE DON'T REALLY KNOW THE PSYCHOLOGY SCHOOLS, RIGHT?

JUST BEING, WANTED TO BE PART OF THAT, YOU KNOW, EFFORT TO REALLY SUPPORT YOU.

YOU KNOW, YOU, WHO ARE LIKE MYSELF.

SALVATION, BILINGUAL.

AND JUST EXPLORING THE WORLD AROUND THEM.

LIKE, I THINK IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL THAT I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE HERE.

>> AND YOU MENTIONED FOR TWO YEARS AT A HIGH SCHOOL.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE, THE NEED INCREASE FOR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AMONG YOUNG, YOUNG ADULTS?

HOW DO YOU GUIDE THEM?

>> WE SEE THE NEED INCREASING EVERY SINGLE YEAR, AND I THINK FROM COUNSELING TO JUST BEING THERE FOR THEM, PROVIDING EVENTS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING VERY NATURAL TO THE WORLD AROUND THEM, RIGHT?

SO MY FOUNDATION, AND LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH.

SO JUST MEETING WITH THEM, BEING THERE WITH THEM, IS HELPFUL IN THAT WAY.

>> AND I THINK WE CAN ALSO SAY SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYS A PART, CORRECT?

>> YES, ABSOLUTELY.

YEAH, NO, SOCIAL MEDIA, I MEAN, NOWADAYS, RIGHT, YOU SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE.

>> AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE STIGMA SURROUNDING MENTAL HEALTH.

THE PLACES THAT WE ALL PROBABLY GREW UP WITH, I'M NOT CRAZY, OR WHAT WOULD THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, HOW DO THESE PHRASES MAYBE STOP PEOPLE FROM SEEKING THE HELP THAT THEY NEED?

>> IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SILENT ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH.

EXPERIENCES THAT EVERYONE IS SEEING, FROM STRESS TO UNCERTAINTY, YOU KNOW, PAIN.

I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE NORMALIZED.

EVERYONE'S GOING THROUGH SOMETHING.

>> AND, MARILYN, ARE YOU NOTICING THAT NOT ONLY YOUNG ADULTS ARE SEEKING THERAPY, BUT ALSO PEOPLE WHO ARE OVER 40?

>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

AND SO A PART OF WHAT OUR ROLE IN THE STIGMA FINE MENTAL HEALTH IS EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT?

GOING OUT INTO COMMUNITIES, HAVING THE CONVERSATION, AND REALLY JUST BUILDING, YOU KNOW, THERAPY BEING FOR LOCALS .

YEAH, HELPING THE COMMUNITY , JUST BEING MORE AWARE OF THE SIGNS, SYMPTOMS, AND HOW TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.

>> RICARDO, YOU FOUND THE LOOP OVER THE SUMMER, WHICH WORKS TO NORMALIZE MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATIONS, AND YOU RECENTLY HOSTED A MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION.

TELL ME ABOUT THAT.

WHAT WAS THE FEEDBACK LIKE?

>> EVERYONE WAS SO GRATEFUL FOR THE EXPERIENCE, AND I WAS HAPPY FOR THAT SOLE REASON, YOU KNOW?

WE PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO COME BY AND JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVE A SITUATION WHERE THEY COULD COME AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH, AND JUST SEEING EVERYONE BEING GRATEFUL LET ME KNOW THAT THIS IS NEEDED, YOU KNOW?

DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN ONCE A MONTH.

IT CAN HAPPEN AS LONG AS WE WANT TO, AND I'M HOPING SOME CAN BE PART OF THAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THAT POSSIBLE.

>> AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT CONVERSATION?

>> THAT EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING GOING ON, YOU KNOW?

AND I THINK SOMETIMES WE WAIT UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE , AND WE CAN START HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE , BECAUSE WHETHER YOU, YOU'RE A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, EXPERIENCING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, OR WHETHER YOU'RE THE PARENT OF A STUDENT.

AND I THINK AS A SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST, I'VE BEEN SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH FAMILIES, AND WE SAW THAT, LIKE, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE WORST OF THE WORST.

WE CAN HAVE CONVERSATIONS NOW AND TODAY.

>> YOU THINK PEOPLE OF ALL, ALL AGES?

>> YES, WE, WE, WE HAD SO MANY IDENTITIES, YOU KNOW.

IT WASN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT LOOKED LIKE ME.

WE HAD COMMUNITIES FROM THE LGBTQ, YOU KNOW, TRANS COMMUNITY.

WE HAD, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE MY PARENTS AGE, AND THEY WERE TALKING AND HAVING A BLAST, YOU KNOW?

I WAS LIKE, MOM, DON'T SAY NOTHING EMBARRASSING ABOUT ME.

BUT TO ME, THAT'S COMMUNITY, RIGHT?

AND WE DID SO IN A WAY THAT WE WERE CELEBRATING MENTAL HEALTH ALTOGETHER.

>> I DON'T KNOW IF WE ALL DO THIS, BUT WE'RE ALL FIRST-GENERATION, AND MARILYN, I WANT TO GO TO YOU.

WHAT WAS A PROCESS LIKE FOR YOU, WHEN YOUR FAMILY KNEW THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE A THERAPIST, YOU WERE GOING INTO THAT FIELD?

HOW DID THE CONVERSATIONS GO ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH WITH YOUR FAMILY, BREAKING THOSE GENERATIONAL PATTERNS AND TRAUMA?

>> YEAH, IT WAS A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION THAT I HAD TO HAVE.

AND TO THIS DAY, I THINK THAT A LOT OF WHAT I DO IS EDUCATE MY FAMILY, YOU KNOW?

SOMETIMES THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT MENTAL HEALTH AND BEING A THERAPIST IS, RIGHT?

YEAH, THE MYTH AROUND THE DISORDERS, OR, RIGHT, THE WAY THAT WE SPEAK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH , AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO EDUCATE THEM ON MYSELF IS JUST PART OF SELF-CARE.

THIS IS PART OF SETTING BOUNDARIES.

HOW WE CAN EXPRESS AND BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS.

I THINK THAT A LOT OF THE TIME, I FIND MYSELF, AGAIN, HAVING TO EDUCATE THEM ON WHAT MENTAL HEALTH IS , BECAUSE THEY NEVER HAD, YOU KNOW, IT SPACES WHERE THEY COULD LEARN OR UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN MENTAL HEALTH >> AND RICARDO, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR FAMILY UNDERSTANDS AND IS MORE OPEN TO HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS?

ALSO AS NAILS, BECAUSE WE KNOW IN OUR CULTURE, MICHIKO IS A REAL THING.

>> MY FATHER TO MY MOTHER, I THINK JUST BEING A PROFESSIONAL, THEY'RE ABLE TO HAVE THAT AWARENESS, AND EVEN THEN, RIGHT, THEY, THEY NEED GUIDANCE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT EVEN 10, 20 YEARS AGO, IT WAS DIFFERENT, AND I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THEY WERE GOING THROUGH, RIGHT?

AND HOW MENTAL HEALTH WASN'T AS NORMALIZED AND BEING TALKED ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

SO KIND OF HAVING , EVEN IN JUST ONE GENERATION, THAT BRINGS HOPES OF WHERE WE CAN TAKE IT EVEN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION AS WELL.

>> MARILYN, I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS LEFT, BUT HIS THERAPY CONCERNED?

>> YOU KNOW WHAT, WE ARE TRYING TO BRIDGE THE GAP TO ACCESS, RIGHT, TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

AND SO THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN WAYS IN WHICH SOME PEOPLE THAT AREN'T SURE THAT YOU HAVE MAYBE, YOU KNOW, THE FINANCIAL MEANS TO ACCESS THEM , BUT PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, RIGHT, AND COMING INTO THE COMMUNITY IS BEING ABLE TO BRIDGE THOSE GAPS BY PROVIDING, YOU KNOW, EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT DON'T NECESSARILY , THAT ARE AFFORDABLE .

A LOT OF THERAPY WE DO HAS AN INTERIM PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE PRO BONO AND FREE SERVICES TO PEOPLE THAT ARE UNINSURED.

AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO, TO BRIDGE THOSE GAPS.

>> ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY?

WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE SECONDS LEFT.

>> I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT WITH MENTAL HEALTH IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL WE EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY.

I THINK EVERYONE HAS STRESSORS, EVERYONE HAS DIFFICULTIES, UNCERTAINTY, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT, YOU