Latinos are experiencing a mental health crisis. This Spanish-language text line seeks to combat it

Latinos are experiencing a mental health crisis. This Spanish-language text line seeks to combat it

Posted on October 14, 2021

Spanish-language speakers often face difficulty accessing mental health resources, but that could change with the launch of the only national Spanish-language text crisis line. People in need of help can now text HOLA to 741741 or text 442-AYUDAME in WhatsApp. The Crisis Text Line experienced a surge in users during the pandemic. In 2020, the English-language text line had about 40% of callers were people of color, with more than 20% of users identifying as Latino. Yet the Spanish-language crisis line will reach a different group of the Latino communities, according to Juan Velez Court, a NAMI consultant. "In Spanish, we have this expression, 'eso es una changería,' which means, this is nonsense, that will go away," Velez Court told Insider. "Latinos use it a lot when it comes to mental illness because there's so much stigma attached to diagnosis and not many Spanish-language resources to educate people." The text component of the crisis resource also makes services more accessible, said Velez Court, because people won't have to worry if someone will recognize their voice or if they start crying.