A culturally tailored approach to address substance use stigma and mental health access in latine communities

Topic of Focus: Explores successful strategies in prevention and early intervention for underserved Latine communities. These strategies are part of a linguistically and culturally competent evidence-based community program. Community engagement, health equity, mental health access and substance use stigma are part of the topics reviewed in this presentation.

Session Description: Latine immigrants have multiple barriers to accessing mental health services. Due to the comorbidity between mental health and substance use, this session explores successful strategies in providing mental health prevention and early intervention services to youth and their families as a key component of a comprehensive integrated model of health.

Young Latines and their families struggling with feelings of alienation and emptiness as part of immigration grief, are extremely vulnerable to getting involved in substance use. Generally, they may be reluctant to navigate the complex health system due to stigma and distrust. This program is designed to increase access by breaking through stigmas and fears.

This linguistically and culturally evidence-based community program not only provides the opportunity to access mental health preventative services but also, as part of the integrated model, connects them with dental and medical services which are all factors impacted by substance use.

Population of Focus of the Presentation: The population of focus is youth from early childhood to adolescents, monolingual or bilingual underserved Latinos and their Spanish speaking marginalized families that live in Alameda County, California.

Objectives: 

1. Understand the barriers and challenges on providing a comprehensive prevention and early intervention mental health model with young Latines and their immigrants’ families
2. Identify successful strategies to implement a culturally and linguistically prevention and early intervention community based mental health program with young Latines and their immigrants’ families,
3. Recognize the value of implementing an integrated health model when working on prevention of substance use and stigma with young Latines and their immigrants’ families.