APA Hispanic Caucus members—who also assisted with the development of LaSaludMental.org— Dr. Bernardo Ng and Dr. Ruby Castilla-Puentes were joined by Crisis Text Line COO César Bocanegra and APA Senior Manager Fátima Reynolds to share mental health information and resources live on the Mexican Consulate in Arizona’s Facebook.

Lorena Verdugo, with the Consulate’s Health Information Area (Ventanilla de Salud), led the discussion and underlined the importance of disseminating critical mental health education and services—such as 988—to the Hispanic/Latino and immigrant community.

“I have worked to help people with mental health problems, and to speak about mental health as much as we speak about other issues, to remove some of that stigma,” said Dr. Castilla-Puentes.

“We both enjoy promoting mental health among Latinos and maintaining that connection with the rest of Latin America,” said Dr. Ng.

He also stressed the need for greater Hispanic/Latino participation in medical trials. He said this representation in scientific research is necessary to develop treatments tailored to the Hispanic/Latino community.

The speakers each gave an overview of the gravity of mental health problems and suicide risk, as well as advice for speaking with family members, children, and friends.

“We want to be encouragement, you are not alone, there are options to receive information and treatment,” said Ng.

Watch a replay of the event below: