New York, Mar 16 (EFE).- The organization Comunilife was recognized today by the Council of New York, on its 15th anniversary, for the work it does to prevent suicide among Latino adolescents in this city, where 10 percent of These minors try to make an attempt on their lives.
The president of the Council (legislative body), Adrienne Adams, led the tribute from the steps of the Mayor’s Office, where the founder and president of Comunilife, the Cuban Rosa Gil, went in search of funds, at a time when the new budget was being evaluated of the city, to continue and expand these services, directed exclusively to Hispanic girls with its program “Life is Precious” (Life is Precious).
“Life is Precious empowers younger women to find their voices and speak up for themselves. It equips them with the tools they need to identify, pursue and achieve it for their families and other loved ones, which is very important,” Adams said, giving Gil a proclamation and announcing a $19,000 award from the Manhattan delegation.
Gil, former president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation under the Bloomberg Administration, lamented that “the need for these programs continues to grow steadily.”
He recalled that they are a therapy support program to combat depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, which operates throughout the year and also offers support to the family.
He told EFE that during Comunilife’s 15 years they have served close to 600 adolescents in their “Life is Precious” program. He explained that according to statistics, 40 percent of Latina adolescents in this city feel depressed for a period of two days or more, a step prior to the idea of suicide.
“In the second phase, which about 18 percent of New York high school girls experience, comes the point where they start thinking about taking all the pills in the bathroom, thinking about how they’re going to do it. damage” after which they move on to the third phase of attempting their lives, which affects more than 10 percent of them.
Young women choose to cut their wrists or take pills, Gil said, pointing to two extreme cases in the Bronx where two girls hanged themselves. 2% of young women achieve their purpose of taking their own lives at the national level, she commented.
“It’s not like they get up one day and say they’re going to do it. It is something that takes time and our job is to ensure that this idea does not continue to progress”, he affirmed and recalled that factors of culture shock with his parents, as a result of emigrating to a country that is more liberal, of schools that do not respond to their cultural needs , poverty and social networks lead young people to this situation.
He added that the covid epidemic “has been very destructive to the human psyche but more harmful to adolescents.” It also leads them to suicidal ideation having been physically or sexually abused. “30% of our participants have been raped or physically abused by a family member,” she added.
Comunilife has four offices in the city: The Bronx, Manhattan and Queens and recently opened one in Yonkers (Westchester County) and Poughkeepsie, in the north of the state, where he said there is a great need for services.
Gil defended the importance of having a program dedicated to Latinas, recalling that since 1995 CDC statistics have shown that suicidal behavior is higher among this group when compared to others in the country.
