Latinos Avoid Help for Mental Health

Contra Costa Times (Stockton, CA): Latinos in San Joaquin County are five times less likely than whites to seek treatment for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, according to county health officials. Asians and American Indians also are underserved compared to whites and African American in the county's Mental Health Services department, according to state Medi-Cal figures. "We've been working for more than 10 years to try to increase" treatment of Latinos and other ethnic groups, said Bruce Hopperstad, county mental health department director. "We just have a large gap." A major step in efforts to close that gap is under way as county mental health officials decide how to spend more than $5.6 million from Proposition 63, a tax-the-rich initiative approved by California voters in November 2004. It is the first of more than $10.7 million in new funds the county expects to receive this year from the ballot initiative, Hopperstad said. There is no one reason for the disparity, Hopperstad said. Language barriers, social stigmas and cultural pressure to "keep things within the family" all contribute to keep Latinos suffering from mental illnesses from seeking help, experts say.