Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Center Chief Program Officer addresses LGBT suicide risks in current climate
by Matt Simonette
2017-09-20

This article shared 1194 times since Wed Sep 20, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


The United States recently recognized National Suicide Prevention Week, at which time experts noted that recent and continuing events—including those both directly and indirectly affecting the LGBT community—can be taxing to one's mental health.

"The stress that the country is going through, and the confusing messages we go through—messages of hate, messages of love—really impact those who are vulnerable and in isolation," said Hector Torres, Chief Program Officer at Center on Halsted.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the rate of suicide increased by 24 percent between 1999-2014 in the United States. About 43,000 Americans took their own lives in 2015. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among adults in the United States and the second leading cause of death among young people.

A large number of those individuals at risk are members of the LGBT community. Social isolation, Torres noted, is a key risk factor for those who contemplate, attempt or complete suicide, and that adds to a vulnerability many LGBT individuals, especially LGBT young people, might be inclined towards. As such, suicide attempts—there is not a lot of data available on completed suicide attempts—are disproportionately higher among LGBT youth.

"We are born to a world where we figure out that there is a difference with us, and that difference is associated with 'not good,'" he added. "We are born into a world where there is still a stigma against LGBTQ [persons]. Even though there are efforts to get rid of that stigma, we still have it. It impacts those who are younger more—they have not been able to develop the tools to push back towards a society that is so negative. Therefore, our young people are one of the most vulnerable groups most vulnerable.

The level and nature of a young person's engagement with their family also is a determinant of their risk.

"One of the assurances that is very comforting about the nuclear family is to think that they will always be there: 'No matter what I will do, they will love me.' Sexual orientation and gender-identity can be interpreted by youth as something that can disrupt that link. That can be very scary and feel like the end of the world," Torres noted, adding that other risk factors such as poverty and racism can complicate an LGBT youth's life even further.

According to Torres, "Adolescence is one of the times where you start separating as an individual, becoming your own self. It's a time to figure out who you are. When you realize you belong to a group that a lot of people don't like, hate or have a lot of strong emotions towards, it leads to a lot of conflict."

The risk factors for LGBT suicide are especially high during a person's youth, but also increase as they get older, Torres noted.

"The core factor is isolation," he explained. "With the young population, the isolation happens because, 'I don't control the social circles where I'm at, such as at school. I'm not surrounded by people I choose.' The same thing happens in [older] adult life. Unfortunately, our seniors are tending to isolate. It doesn't happen only among the LGBTG individuals, but we do see that trend being more significant with them."

In older-adult social circles, or social-services delivery, there is often an assumption of being heterosexual and cisgender that can impact an LGBT person more profoundly. "With age, we might not have our nuclear family as close, or they might have been lost, and the isolation becomes very real," Torres added, adding that the sense of loss can be amplified in persons who have lost loved ones or acquaintances to HIV/AIDS.

Torres also noted that suicide risk factors are especially profound with transgender and bisexual persons. Both communities might sometimes feel additionally isolated and stigmatized by other gay and lesbian persons.

"In the LGBT community, there is still a great stigma towards 'T' individuals," he explained. "There is a greater lack of understanding and empathy from individuals in the greater community, who discriminate and don't accept the 'T' as part. … Success that we've had with the 'LG" part of the community—such as elimination from the [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]—we still have not achieved that with the trans population."

Members of the bisexual community are likewise sometimes left at a disadvantage because of a marked tendency by society to rely on "definites," Torres said. "It makes us stressed to be left in a position that is ambiguous or 'in the middle.' Bisexual individuals are often perceived by others, and treated by others, as someone in the middle—not black or white, or in or out. They receive the stigma of someone who's not fully defined."

The Center has recently received an increase in the volume of calls seeking services, he noted, adding that there is often a marked uptick in calls after events such as the 2016 Pulse shooting in Orlando, or widespread news reports on efforts to marginalize the LGBT community. Torres also said that those already utilizing the Center's counseling and mental-health services report greater distress during such times.

Torres said, "I am a believer that we should be able to express our emotions at all times," but added that persons should consider assistance when, after an extended period of time, they cannot "shake off" negative emotional responses.

"As human beings, we should be able to have the range of emotions from sadness to happiness, and we need to feel sad sometimes," he added. "But when we cannot shake it off, when it persists, and it is with us for most of the day, for many days, that should be a cause of worry. If we don't have someone we can talk to, who can care for us, we should we be reaching out."

Those who think they might be at risk can consult a number of resources, Torres added, among them the Trevor Project or the It Gets Better campaign. Locally, he said individuals can also contact the Center's behavioral health department.

"We have a person who will help individuals navigate our resources and their needs," he said.

The Trevor Project is at the trevorproject.org, while the It Gets Better Project is at itgetsbetter.org . Mayo Clinic's article on suicide awareness is at mayocl.in/2tK7JKh.

Center on Halsted's behavioral health department can be reached at 773-472-6469, ext. 460.

Next week: Additional coverage of the issue of suicide in the LGBT community.


This article shared 1194 times since Wed Sep 20, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Brown Elephant Returns To Northalsted
2024-03-26
Brown Elephant's Lake View location is moving to Northalsted and already accepting donations. Howard Brown Health, the largest LGBTQ+ health center in the midwest, operates three Brown Elephant resale shops in the Chicagoland area to help ...


Gay News

An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...


Gay News

Planned Parenthood of Illinois expands Orland Park health center
2024-03-26
--From a press release - ORLAND PARK, Ill. - Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) announces the expansion of its existing Orland Park Health Center at 14470 S. LaGrange Rd., Suite 106. The 1,800-square-foot expansion is projected to increase sexual and reproductive ...


Gay News

After 30 Under 30: MAP Executive Director Naomi Goldberg
2024-03-25
NOTE: In this series, Windy City Times will profile some of its past 30 Under 30 honorees. Windy City Times started its 30 Under 30 Awards in 2001, presenting them each year through 2019. This year, ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

UK health service to stop routinely prescribing puberty blockers to minors
2024-03-14
NHS (National Health Service) England confirmed that children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender-identity clinics, the BBC reported. The decision came after a review found there was "not enough evidence" that they ...


Gay News

One Roof Chicago launches youth-focused workforce development program
2024-03-14
One Roof Chicago (ORC) is set to launch its first training, education and job placement program for LGBTQ+ young adults in late spring. This Community Health Workers and Elder Care program is a part of ORC's ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union
2024-03-13
Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


Gay News

Pro-choice activists protest crisis pregnancy center on International Women's Day
2024-03-11
The rainy weather on March 8 didn't deter a passionate group of pro-choice protesters from gathering in Old Town on International Women's Day. Following the opening of Women's Care Center—a crisis pregnancy center—directly next to Pl ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Pride 365 event emphasizes year-round support for LGBTQ+ employees
2024-03-07
Queer employees are queer all year-round. The need for employers to accordingly support and uplift them year-round was the core message at Howard Brown Health and Citywide Pride's Pride 365 "Out of Office to Out in ...


Gay News

AMA launches toolkit to increase screenings for HIV, STIs, hepatitis, tuberculosis
2024-03-06
Press release - CHICAGO — With disruptions in clinical care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and viral hepatitis across the U.S., the American Medical Association ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.