Black Americans struggle with lack of mental health care access in communities

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Last night, we have reported on the troubling rise in suicide deaths among young Black Americans.

  Tonight, we explore one of the drivers of that crisis, a shortage of mental health providers.

  Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro has this report from Chicago, part of our Race Matters coverage.

• And a warning:

  This story discusses topics of suicide that some may find disturbing.

• Noah Boynton, Chicago Resident:

  Feeling like you're not the regular type of person, it could shift your mind into a really dark place. And I was, what, 9, 10, just like, I don't even want to be here anymore, because I just didn't.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  You thought about ending your life?

• Noah Boynton:

  Yes.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  When Noah Boynton was growing up on Chicago's South Side, he had trouble brushing off the teasing he faced at school. He had a condition that affected how he ran and the appearance of his leg.

  Sharon Morgan, Boynton's single mother and a teacher herself, initially thought the taunts were mostly harmless. But, later, she received a call from the mother of her son's best friend.

• Noah Boynton:

  He went home and was like: "Mom, Noah's having these thoughts."

  And I just remember the night. Me and my mom were sitting crying together, because I just — it was time that I actually told her how I was feeling. I didn't want to be gone, but I just couldn't take it anymore. And it gets to that point.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  He started therapy, but, in 2022, Boynton's grandfather, Morgan's dad, died at the age of 87.

  Sharon Morgan, Mother of Noah Boynton: He was so good with my son. It was the things — he gave the things that I couldn't.

• Noah Boynton:

  A lot of people don't have — don't grow up with that father figure in their life to show them just how to become a man. He was that guy for me in the end. Losing him was — in a sense, we both lost the father in that way.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Morgan started to see more troubling signs in her son, including increased isolation. She decided to seek help specifically from a Black male therapist.

• Sharon Morgan:

  Black men handle emotions differently. And I wanted someone who could understand how Noah was feeling and help him navigate through that.

• Dwayne Smith, Licensed Counselor:

  A kid or a client, right, they don't care what until they know that you care.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  They found Dwayne Smith, a licensed counselor. When he first met Noah Boynton, the two talked only about basketball, before slowly getting into conversations about feeling and emotions.

• Noah Boynton:

  He understands. He gets it. His story is similar to anyone I know. It's just things like that make it easier to…

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  There are things you don't have to explain.

• Noah Boynton:

  Exactly. It's a lot of things that you don't have to say, because they already get it.

• Dwayne Smith:

  It's definitely a big, big deal. It does matter. I think it brings a level of comfort, because one of the things that we all have in common, particularly of the African American community, is, we know some of the struggles, we know some of the biases.

  We all have had these encounters, being misunderstood, being labeled.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Smith works in schools, runs a summer program, and provides therapy largely to clients who live on Chicago's South and West sides, where many of the city's Black residents live.

• Dwayne Smith:

  There's a lot of work, there's a lot of need, and there's not enough people.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Experts say there is a lack of Black mental health professionals across the country, despite a growing demand for such services.

  In 2012, the city of Chicago closed half its public mental health clinics, mostly ones located on the South Side. By 2020, according to one analysis, the provider-to-population ratio in some areas was about a 10th of the national rate.

  Officials have announced plans to reopen at least one clinic and expand services elsewhere, but:

  Janelle Goodwill, University of Chicago: There's still a great deal of work to do in order to ensure that those who are in need and at risk are receiving the support that could ultimately save their life.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  University of Chicago Professor Janelle Goodwill has studied the rise in suicide deaths among the city's Black residents, including youth.

• Janelle Goodwill:

  When I speak with families who have already lost their child or families who are currently living with other reality that their child is at risk for suicide, one of the main questions I'm asked is, how do I find a therapist? How do I find a clinician? How do I find a Black clinician in this area?

  And so I know that that's something that is really impacting so many families. And so there's a great need to ensure that there's enough providers available to service all those who are in need.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  In 2020, licensed clinical social worker Camesha Jones started Sista Afya Community Care. It provides free therapy specifically for Black women and girls, a population that's seen one of the biggest increases in suicide, both nationally and in Chicago.

  Jones, who's dealt with her own mental health issues, says her clients rarely face just one kind of stressor.

• Camesha Jones, Sista Afya Community Care:

  If a Black woman were to come to me and she's like, I'm taking care of my children, I'm also taking care of my parents, and I just feel really stressed and stretched really thin because of all these things that I'm juggling, I would automatically get that.

  Everything that we have been through in this country and we're still here is powerful, but all the things that we're growing through to still exist in this society is really, really difficult.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  That, Jones says, is partly why it's so important to get more Black providers into the field. One barrier is licensure requirements.

  A 2022 report found that 84 percent of white people who took the licensed clinical social worker exam passed on their first try. For Black applicants, that rate was just 45 percent, and only 57 percent of Black applicants ever passed the test.

  So, last year, the Illinois legislature passed a law allowing an alternative for obtaining a license, completing an additional 3,000 hours of supervised practice.

• Camesha Jones:

  With where things are at right now with mental health in our communities and in this country, the more that we can open it up for people who really want to do this work, I think is a huge asset.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  The effects of the change won't be seen for a while, but there are already calls to expand alternatives to other mental health professions.

  On the South Side, Noah Boynton, who followed his late grandfather, an Olympic boxer, into the ring, believes therapy after his death prevented him from taking the same path as some of his peers.

• Noah Boynton:

  At first when he passed, it was like nothing matters anymore. It's like I don't know what to do. It's just you feel lost a lot. And when you feel lost like that, a lot of times, demons find you.

  If I didn't get that help as fast as I did, I would have probably tried to jump in the streets or tried to be something that I'm not, because it helps you — it covers that up a little bit. It helps mask it.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  Today, Noah Boynton is happy. He just graduated from high school and is enjoying summer. He's getting ready for his first year at Morehouse College in the fall. He wants to become an entrepreneur, maybe build his own clothing brand.

  But he says he continues to work on himself.

• Noah Boynton:

  The mental health battle is not something that's going to end. It's just something that you have to continuously want to win. You're not going to — it's not going to ever really be over.

• Fred de Sam Lazaro:

  And as this crisis continues, he hopes sharing his story will encourage others to find the help they need.

  For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Chicago.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And Fred's reporting is a partnership with the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.