Young Latina women are the most likely in the city to try to end their lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 percent of Latina teens in New York attempted suicide in 2009, higher than any other demographic group in the city.
Many complain of cultural conflict within their families — immigrant mothers clashing with American-born daughters. “The girls, they want to imitate their American friends,” said Dr. Rosa Gil, president of Comunilife, which runs Life is Precious campaigns in the South Bronx and Bushwick to help suicidal Latina teens.
“They want to go out with their boyfriends,”?Gil continues, “and the mothers say, ‘Oh no, in my country, we didn’t do that. You stay here.’”
Girls ages 12 to 17 attend Gil’s workshops to help fight depressive thoughts.
One Bronx girl, 16, started going to the group last May after cutting herself and questioning why she was alive if her mother gave her up for adoption.
“I started thinking I wasn’t important in the world,” she told Metro. “Now, when I start thinking about stuff again, I’ll go and talk to them and feel better.”
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter at @AlisonatMetro.
