OP-ED Our Daughters—Young Latinas in Crisis

by Loida García-Febo -- Críticas, 8/15/2006

In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted a national survey to investigate dangerous juvenile behavior among high school students. Of the participating Latinas, 14.9 percent said they had attempted suicide. The second and third groups were white, non-Hispanics and African-Americans, with 9.8 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, reporting they had attempted suicide. As a result, the National Institute of Mental Health allocated $1.7 million for a five-year study to find out why Latinas have the highest suicide rate among adolescents.

Dr. Luis H. Zayas, Associate Dean for Faculty of the School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, who conducted the 2005 study, mentioned as one of the main reasons that our muchachas [girls] live in two very different worlds; they experiment a culture shock between the traditions of their parents and the more open American society.

Last month, Spanish-language newspaper El Diario/La Prensa published a series of articles on this often overlooked phenomenon, asking elected officials, the government, and society members to provide the security and support needed by our chicas [young women]. The New York Times also published an editorial last month calling for educators, policymakers, families, and communities to take action.

How you can make a difference

As the heart of the community, one of the responsibilities libraries have is to meet the needs of everyone they serve. Librarians across the nation have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our young women. We must respond to young Latinas’ cries for help.

The average age of the first generation U.S.-born Latinos is 12 years. What does this young population like to do?^“Talk and hang out with their friends,” said Bill Stack, Assistant Young Adult Services Coordinator at Queens Library. “They like to work on scientific tests, watching over and over what happens when a Mentos [candy] is dropped in a can of soda: it explodes!” There is more to it, “Don’t label a program ‘for teenagers of X ethnicity’ because chances are they won’t attend,” said another colleague.

Libraries—such as the Bronx Library Center, NY—provide a venue for Latino teenagers to get together with peers while enjoying reading. A recent New York Times article featured a group of Latino Goths that had been “hanging out” at that library developing an exciting project, a zine called Oh, My Goth. This initiative is part of a writing workshop created by and for young Latinos.

Queens Library, one of the largest employers of teenagers in Queens, engages teen with the Book Buddy Program where teens read books for younger kids. The program’s Teen Advisory Board—composed entirely by teenagers—suggests programming such as interactive poetry, writing workshops, and even one on “How to Do Your Nails.”

Identifying resources

Most of the time, librarians are in close contact with community organizations. These are the perfect partners to present programs to. If that is not the case, librarians need to get out there, take a walk or drive around the community, to find out where the Latino organizations are. Visit churches, laundromats, restaurants, and bodegas [small grocery shops] to get in touch with the immigrants in your area. County and private psychologists, youth counselors, and other behavior professionals can be enlisted to work in conjunction with the library.

Topics to consider for programming are depression, how to manage conflict, financial literacy, job and resume skills, parent-daughter workshops, Latino identity, and culture and traditions.

No one at the library speaks Spanish? Recruit volunteers! They can, and will, introduce library services to Latinos within the community. As librarians Victoria Pendelton and Elfreda Chatman wrote in Small World Lives: Implications for the Public Library, even the Latino “small world” can be penetrated by tenacious librarians.

Materials—in either English or Spanish—on this acute social issue [suicide] are not often found. Why is it ignored? Libraries need more resources about it; we need all the help we can find. Publishers listen when librarians and distributors request materials on topics needed by our communities. As information professionals, now is the time to contact publishers.

We were all adolescents once. We know how intense and confusing that period is. Imagine adding to that mix two major forces, American culture and Latino traditions, and you might understand why growing up Latina in the United States is shocking and difficult.

As mentioned in the New York Times, one in four women in the United States will be Hispanic by the middle of the century…. If we want our quinceañeras [adolescent girls] and mujeres [women] healthy and productive, ready to conquer the world, we have to take action now.

Online resources

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
www.nimh.nih.gov

National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center
www.safeyouth.org  

Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN)
www.spanusa.org

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
http://www.sprc.org/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Suicide Publications

English: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/suicide-publications.htm
Español: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/suicidio.htm

References

Malkin, Nina. “The Coven of the Grand Concourse.” The New York Times. 30 July 2006: B4.

Pendleton, Victoria E. M., and Elfreda A. Chatman. “Small World Lives: Implications for the Public Library.” Library Trends 46(4): (1998)

Rivera, Elaine. “Jóvenes Latinas bajo un alto riesgo de suicidio.” El Diario/La Prensa. 12 Jul. 2006.
http://www.eldiariony.com/noticias/detail.aspx?id=1408470§ion=17
[accessed, 8/9/06]

Rivera, Elaine. “Latinas in crisis.” El Diario/La Prensa. 12 Jul. 2006.
http://www.eldiariony.com/noticias/detail.aspx?section=25&id=1447478&desc=
[accessed, 8/9/06]

Rivera, Elaine. “Tiempo de actuar en favor de las jóvenes.” El Diario/La Prensa. 15 Jul. 2006.
http://www.eldiariony.com/noticias/detail.aspx?section=17&id=1449766&desc=
[accessed, 8/9/06]

Rivera, Elaine. “Young Latinas and a Cry for Help.” The New York Times. 21 July 2006.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/opinion/21fri3.html?ex=1311134400&en=4780dbf7d9e71d4f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
[accessed, 8/9/06]