Allison Gutierrez, 14, has been in the ‘Life is Precious’ program for just over a month, which serves as a suicide prevention center for Latina teens at risk.
“The reason I got there is that I had a lot of problems at home, and it drove me crazy, things came to my mind that I couldn’t stop thinking about,” Allison said.
Allison.
Unfortunately, Allison’s situation is not unusual. Latina teens have the highest rate of suicide attempts in the country, but thanks to the LIP program, she and other young women can count on a support network.
“Because you are going to see people who are going to help you in everything you have, you have to, you don’t have to be sorry, you have to say what you feel and they will understand you,” added Allison.
Just on Thursday afternoon, some program assistants, elected officials and its founder gathered on the steps of City Hall to ask that the city continue to give funds and be able to provide services that help reduce the risk factors associated with suicide.
“What is here (at stake) are the lives of our girls and to have that opportunity to say ‘that I have saved a life by giving a little bit of funds’, it is enough for us to understand the magnitude that a dollar is worth a lot. for our girls,” said councilwoman Marjorie Velázquez.
Created and founded by the doctor, Rosa Gil in 2008, ‘Life is Precious’ or Life is Precious, has helped more than 700 young people here in the city to deal with suicidal thoughts and none has completed suicide, therefore they say the program is successful.
“We receive the ‘referals’, they send us these girls from the schools. They also send them to us from other non-profit organizations, social service agencies, hospitals, in emergency rooms,” explained Dr. Gil.
There are many reasons why Latinas are more susceptible to this problem.
“When they don’t have options for housing, when they don’t have many options for those who say good schools, when there are no programs that exist after school, then there are many reasons, but poverty has a lot to do with it,” said Beatriz Coronel, LIP Vice President
There they receive academic support, expressive arts therapies, health and wellness activities, and family services in English and Spanish. They just need to attend school regularly, be under the clinical care of a mental health professional, and have parental permission.
LIP has four chapters in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. If you or someone you know needs these services, you can visit the page comunilifelip.org
