Isabel’s grades were slipping. Her mother was in psychiatric care. Her brothers used drugs and were in and out of prison. She felt hopeless and said she no longer wanted to live.

Maria endured domestic violence as a child. Her father had a long history of substance abuse. She was so attached to her mother that she didn’t want to leave the house. She was always sad and angry. One day, she sliced at her wrists.
Both of these 14-year-old Hispanic girls, whose names have been changed, were later counseled by Hilda Benitez, a licensed clinical social worker at Unitas Therapeutic Community, which provides mental health services to youth in New York City. “I don’t think they really wanted to kill themselves,” Benitez said. “They were just under a lot of stress.”

Source: Latina teenagers have nation’s highest rate of suicide attempts — JSCMS