The state of Nevada has been ranked as one of the worst in the west of the country in access to mental health services, increasing the crisis generated by the pandemic, according to a recent report by UNLV’s Brookings Mountain West and the Lyncy Institute.
“Among western states, Nevada ranks second in lowest availability of mental health staff with one professional per 460 residents,” the report authors noted.
Additionally, Nevada ranks low in access to insurance, access to treatment, quality and cost of insurance, access to special education, and availability of professional staff.
For this reason, the announcement of January 26 by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto acquires special relevance, granting $1,218,626 to Nevada State College to train school counselors, social workers, psychologists and other mental health professionals to provide their services in Nevada.
The severe shortage of mental health professionals in Nevada’s schools led Senator Cortez Masto to include funds for this purpose in the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” that was signed into law last year.
Also included was $1,337,000 to help Nevada State College build a mental health clinic that will serve Clark County School District students and their families.
“Investing in our children’s mental health has always been one of my priorities, which is why I fought for these funds to increase the number of mental health professionals in Nevada schools,” said Senator Cortez Masto.
“We need more professionals who represent our community, we know that in the Hispanic population more help is required to make patients feel more comfortable talking with their psychologist without language barriers,” said Cortez Masto in an exclusive interview for Las Vegas Review-Journal in Spanish and 7@7 in Spanish.
He recognized that it is very important to help at all levels including essential services for the community. “I will make sure these resources reach our community,” she said.
“It is the response to a health crisis, that not only is it enough to call 911 but also the need to receive professional help, and for this in Nevada we also have the 988 line where support is received from professionals trained in mental health. The program includes the services of Medicare psychologists,” said the senator.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide among adolescents has been on a dramatic rise recently across the nation. Every year, thousands of adolescents commit suicide in the United States, making it the third leading cause of death for youth ages 15-24, and the sixth leading cause of death for children ages 5-14.
The Senator has also been able to increase funding, including $950,000 for the Clark County School District and $1,535,000 for the Washoe County School District, to hire more mental health professionals.
“These resources will help us support our students, keeping them safe in the classroom and in our communities,” Cortez Masto reiterated.
Psychologist Margarita Romano, director of the Fuente de Vida mental health services agency in Las Vegas, said the senator’s announcement “is excellent and necessary news because the state of Nevada is one of those with the fewest resources, Although it has improved somewhat, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done”.
Romano has been in this activity for almost 20 years, especially helping the Hispanic community.
He said that “there are many young Hispanics with suicidal ideas due to traumas that have increased due to the pandemic and we have been overwhelmed in care.”
He added that “the figures increased, among other reasons, due to the clash of first and second generation cultures where young people do not feel identified.”
The psychologist Romano stressed that “we work on this stress process helping all generations, also eliminating language barriers.”
